GENERATING AN IDEA

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Often the hardest part of the creative process is finding/creating the inspiration of what to make. sometimes random ideas come to me which I write or sketch down. Sometimes ideas form from conversations or events in everyday life. 

Next in the process is sourcing the reference material. I'm not great at drawing, but I often like to rough out a pencil sketch to help with sizing and scale. I often use this as a blueprint for the wire and foil armature that I build in the next part of the process. If possible I will often source some suitable photographs for helping with details later on.

Building the armature is next in the process and forms the internal core of the sculpture. Without the armature, the sculpt will be weak, and most probably, the clay will be too thick and not bake properly. This can lead to issues such as cracking. Armatures are usually made from tin foil and wire. Mesh and masking tape are often used in the process as well.

Next, I start building up the form by adding clay to the armature. The clay needs to be processed first usually by passing it through a pasta machine to condition it so it's easier to work with. I use a variety of sculpting tools at this point including metal loop tools, ballpoint tools, paint brushes, texture tools and smoothing tools. 

A single sculpture is often made up of several smaller sculpts. These will usually be combined to form the finished design before the sculpture is baked in the oven.

Generally I used modern polymer based clays. These are hardened at much lower temperatures than traditional clays (such as earthenware, stoneware and porcelain). Polymer clays are baked around 115 degrees celsius whereas traditional clays are fired at around 900 to 1300.

Once the piece has been baked (normally around 20 to 30 minutes), the sculpture is ready to be painted or some type of patina is added. I tend to use metallic finishes on my work.