ModelingThe process of manipulating a

flexible material into sculptural form

Modeling is an additive process

Artists squeeze, pinch, pull, and push to shape materials into the desired form.

While we add and remove material during the process, modeling is considered to be an additive process.

Modeling is the oldest form of sculpting technique

Ancient cultures modeled clay into human and animal forms in order to communicate and explain their world.

Venus of Dolní Věstonice 29,000–25,000 BCE

Zoomorphic Double Headed - Rattle Vessel1000 AD 18cm H x 26.5cm

Possible materials that can be used to model:

• Air drying clay• Ceramic clay• Oil clay• Polymer clay• Wax• Paper mache• Plaster

All modeling materials have the characteristic of plasticity

Plasticity - the quality of a material to be bent, stretched, and hold form without breaking.

Oil clays are designed to hold their moisture and remain plastic for continual use or adjustment.

For our modeling project, we will be using water-based ceramic clay

Ceramic clays are either naturally occurring materials or combinations of naturally occurring materials. Combinations are known as clay bodies.

We must wedge all ceramic clay before we use it

Wedging - a process of improving the workability of clay by reforming the mixture to make it homogenous, even in texture, and free of air pockets.

Ceramic clays will dry out and lose plasticity if left exposed to air. They are designed to be fired in a kiln in order to undergo transformation into rigid permanent form.

Types of Kilns

Wood Fired

Electric

Gas Fired

The plasticity of clay allows us to achieve detail and communicate with surface treatment

Texture- The element of art that refers to the quality of a surface, both tactile and visual.

When modeling, artists frequently construct work on an armature

Armature- a skeleton-like structure used for support of modeling material.

Artist Profile:

Alberto Giacometti1901 -1966

• Began sculpting in 1925• Was inspired by art of

primitive cultures• Began his trademark “Skinny

Figures” in 1939 and showed them publicly in a one-man show in 1948

• Not only does he communicate with abstraction of the human form, but also with the surface

Proportion- The principle of design that includes the relation of one object to another in size, amount, number, or degree.

Giacometti distorted proportion

Artist Profile:

Debra Fritts

•Local Roswell-based artist•Former public school art teacher•Still teaches workshops•Textured surfaces create tension and give static sculptures a sense of energy and movement

“Looking at my work, I realize that I am a storyteller, but not in the usual sense. I build my stories in terra cotta clay, layering the surfaces with found object marks and fired colorants.”

-Debra Fritts

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