From Vision to Armature to Clay

As you stand before a bronze sculpture admiring its beauty, have you ever wondered how the sculpture was created?   This posting will walk you through the steps, picture by picture, as the vision of a mermaid and two dolphins is turned into the bronze sculpture “Harmony”.

I, the artist (sculptor) perform the first steps in the process and end up with a clay original of the sculpture when I’m done.  I then take this clay original to a casting foundry where the artisans at the foundry complete the process, reproducing the sculpture using the ‘lost wax process’ to create the finished bronze.  This posting describes my part in the process and a future posting will deal with the foundry’s job.

After I have an idea or “vision” of what I want to sculpt I often have to do a lot of research.  I may need to study anatomy and muscle structure so my figures are anatomically correct.  I may need to learn about the clothes and accoutrements from a particular time period so my figures are historically authentic.  Being an artist, I am allowed some “poetic license” but when sculpting real life figures I want to be as accurate as possible.

When my research is complete, I gather together the materials I will need – usually a wooden platform on which to build the sculpture, hardware components for the armature, and clay to begin the sculpting.  The clay is a non-drying, oil/wax based clay such as that made by Chavant and Classic.  It comes in a  medium and hard version.  I usually use the Classic firm but like the extra hardness of the Chavant for zeroing in on some detail such as the mermaid’s hand.  Very often the clay comes in large chunks so I will spend some time now to cut it up into smaller pieces so it is easier to work with. 

Next I build the armature, the underlying   support to the clay sculpture.  The armature will be different for every sculpture, sometimes very complicated if there are a lot of appendages (arms, legs) and sometimes very simple if it is for a bust or other large object.  I use plumbing pipe and flanges where the weightier portions of the sculpture will be and to connect the armature to the wooden platform so the sculpture will not move while I am working on it.  I use armature wire (from an art store or stripped electrical wire) for those parts that do not need quite as much support.   The wires go through a tee fitting and are secured in place with epoxy.           

With the armature complete, I begin adding clay.  I initially pinch it onto a segment of the armature and do not worry too much about form or appearance.  When I feel that the segment has enough clay, I begin to smooth it out and create the proper form.  I then add clay to another segment of the armature and keep repeating the process until the basic figure has taken shape.  After this, I spend many hours perfecting the shape.   I scrape  off clay, add clay, smooth and add any detail required.   I use Weber Turpenoid for smoothing as it is one of the stronger solvents and helps break down the clay. 

In some instances, in addition to the main armature, an off-line piece is needed.  This piece will be added to the sculpture by the foundry when it is in metal.  You can see an example of such an off-line piece in the background of the last photo – a baby dolphin on its own armature.  It will be attached under the mermaid’s outstretched hand by the foundry.

As I envisioned the bronze for this sculpture as having a very smooth surface,  I spent a considerable amount of time smoothing and re-smoothing the clay.  Other sculptures may have a lot of detail work in the clothing, saddles, facial features, feathers, etc. and require a similar amount of time or even more for that work.   When I decide I  can do no more to improve the sculpture, my part of the process is complete and I take the finished clay original to the foundry where the artisans at the foundry reproduce the sculpture in bronze using the ‘lost wax process’.  They then add the patina (using acids and heat) to create the colors I specified for the finished bronze.  The process at the foundry can take 8 to 16 weeks.