Finishing the Sculpture

I am now finishing the Terre Haute sculpture, tightening everything up. Smoothing the surface is an important part of finishing. I will show a couple of tools to obtain a smooth surface.

I am using a clay shaper which has a flexible rubber tip to smooth out the faces.
For larger areas, I use a metal palette tool.
Here, I am using the tool to smooth the arm. I move the tool gently over the suface, removing small amounts of clay in each pass.
This is the sculpture at its present stage. I have spent a great deal of time getting the hands in the proper postition to support the globe. Almost there!

I saw this spider, backlit by the light in the kitchen. It's about an inch long.

A couple of Red Headed Woodpeckers have visited the feeding station. I think these are the prettiest of all the woodpeckers.

Spring, Sprang, Sprung

I apply ridges of clay for the folds of the shirt. These are roughly applied as I will add warm clay which will fill and soften the area.

The clay fold is fairly stiff at room temperature so that it remains rigid and acts as an armature of sorts when I apply some warm clay to fill in the fold.

A rake tool helps me to see high spots and low spots on the sculpture as well as leaving an interesting texture.

A loop tool is used to define the little girls hair.

This is the little girl. I am very happy with her at this point, just a matter of detailing her out.

This is the little boy. He still needs work on the shirt and pants.

This view shows the children. The little girl is much further along. The little boy is still somewhat stiff and needs a bit more work.

Last year's leaf- with its arms crossed.

This is an extreme close-up of Henbit bloom buds

This is a close-up of a Bloodroot just beginning to open.

One of the first sounds of spring is the trill of the tree frog as males call to prospective mates. Soon, the puddle will be filled with tadpoles...

The work continues....and spring arrives

I have blocked in the belt area and now begin to pack on clay for the shirt.


I have blocked in the body of the shirt and have indicated on the arms with lines in the clay where I will add clay for the folds of the shirt.


I have added clay and formed it using loop tools to create the folds of cloth. I have also added a collar.


I have blocked in the belt but it is very rough. Now I need to smooth it out and define it.


By pressing with a wood tool with a rounded end and rolling slightly, I smooth out the clay to create the form of the belt.


Here I am defining the belt by pressing the end of a square edged wood tool against it and drawing it to the right. I will use this tool to define the loops of the pants and where the shirt and pant meet to make a clean edge.


Here is the sculpture, there is still work to go, but it is coming along.


This is a closeup of moss and what looks like a flower, but is not, it is a Antheridium, which is how moss reproduce -kind of like flowers do. It is extremely small - less than 1/16th of an inch across.


Condensation inside a 2 liter bottle.


Rain on the web of a spider.


A closeup of a Lacewing. Insects in the house is a sure sign of spring.


Another sign of spring is that the buds of the trees have started to open, this is a water maple in the rain. And yes, they are that pink, but they are relatively small and easy to miss.