Rock Paper Scissors N Clay: Reworking Don's Angel

Don created an Angel sculpture and he just wasn't happy with it. So he asked me to take it over and see what I could do. This enters kind of a grey area, the piece will be a type of hybrid. The basic design is Don's I am merely changing it as far as the detail.

Don has asked that I do this in his absence, he just doesn't want to watch.

I will work with no model or photographs, this will be direct carving - the most fun way to carve. I begin with drawing on the piece with a china marker. I note the areas that need work - the tip of the nose is too small. In stone carving you can't do much about small - you can't add stone where it has been removed - so you have to approach it by proportion - everything must come down to the tip of the nose. The areas that I will carve down are the bridge of the nose which is too wide, the cheekbones which are too prominent and the jawline which is too heavy.

From this angle you can see how I will take back the nose, the lips,cheekbones and the corners of the mouth ( which are usually behind the nostril)as well as the neck and chin.

I use an angle-grinder on the nose, cheeks and chin and a die-grinder for smaller areas around the mouth, nose and eyes.

I further refine the face and carve back the neck.

I mark the areas that need further refining. The eyes are a little wide so I enlarge the eyes toward the bridge of the nose. I also narrow the nose at the corners of eyes. I am very close to the sculpture and this photo has a lot of distortion, that's why the nose and chin appear to be so prominent.

I mark the new jawline with a china marker, the neck is wide as well. I will cut wide of my mark, I can always come back and cut again.

I further refine different areas of the face.

I mark the areas that need refinement - eyes, nose and mouth.

The shoulders and collarbone are too prominent and these need to be moved back.

I decided to recarve the bodice starting with the placket, following the line of the collarbone. The placket ends up a bit lower than the cloth beneath it but I like the way that adds dimension, a bit of puffiness to the fabric.

I decided on short sleeve to show the arms. The area behind the neck needs some deeper shadows, the chin is still a bit heavy. All the areas I have taken down bit by bit, removing a little less than I think is needed. This keeps me from taking off too much.

A die grinder is slower and more easily controlled than an angle grinder and with it I remove more chin. I have also marked where I will be defining the socket of the eye. I have just begun to create dark shadows beside the neck also with a die-grinder.