Thursday, 15 April 2010

Sculpture Workshop creations

Our taks was to make a selection of numerous imaginary friends, using a range of materials and processes. We had to be experimental with the materials available. They should have names and personalities.
The image opposite is my initial sketch for my imaginary friend. I decided to construct this idea using clay so that i have a variety of choices what to do once the object was fired. The building process started with the shape of the head, which was moulded using clay and water. To follow, i rolled out the clay, and by using a cutting knife i created the shape of the horns. The image on the right shows my overall creation using clay as the media. The smaller details such as the eyes which stand away from the figure, were attached separately to add depth. The intricate markings such as the lightning bolts, his mouth and other mark makings, were created using thin pieces of wood or the knife. Once the clay had been fired, i decided that it was best to paint the object using acrylic. As a result i am able to apply specific colours in the areas that i wanted. I prodominantly chose the primary colours being red, blue and yellow so that he was as bold and bright as possible. The coloured images on the left illustrate the outcome. Once i had completed this, i wanted to experiment with the materials available. As a result, i decided to make a vaccum mould of my object using purple MDF plastic. I chose the colour of the plastic which i wanted to use, this was then put in the vaccum machine, along with my object. The machine heats up the plastic so that it begins to rise. Once it is at the correct temperature, the object is forced up into the object so that a mould of the indentation is successfully created - shown opposite. Following this outcome, i decided to further my exploration of materials, where i decided to create a mould out of my vaccum. To achieve this i had to mix water with the plaster of paris powder which is responsible for creating the mould. The mixture had to stay at an even consistency, which was then carefully poured into the mould made previously. This was then left until it was completely dry. This is evident opposite. Once this was apparent, i slowly removed the purple vaccum from the mould. Once this was completed, i was left with a white mould, which i once again decided to paint in acrylic. My final outcome can be found on the left. I used a light red colour for the background, and applied brush strokes to add texture.
My imaginery friend is called 'Striker' and has an unpredictable personality. He is controlling, and lives in the skyready to pounce on his victims using his lightning powers.