How I make a Dolphin Part Deux

      My sculptures in clay are made in many steps that take up to 3 weeks, depending on humidity.  After being made (part one), a sculpture will be put aside until it's dry enough to decant it from its props and carve the extra bits that need trimming.  Those bits occur because gravity pulls down the clay before it's actually dry. Then , I carve more detail into the piece.  And then I put it aside to dry more. And then carve it a little more.  When I'm very sure that there is no liquid left in the clay then it goes into the kiln.

      If I was wrong on that part , and there was liquid left and I fired too fast , BIG explosions !! Not good.  At all.  So I try to avoid that at all costs, not just because it's messy but also because it's expensive in that it can damage a kiln.  I don't think I've done it in the last decade but I remember it well. So occasionally, just to make absolutely sure that they're dry, I've dried pieces under my woodstove, on my porch steps, wherever it's hot and reasonably safe from cats, dogs possums, raccoons, snakes etc. The difference between a piece I've made getting all the way to sale means a clay sculpture making it through all the stages , the making , the drying, the carving, the drying again, and the 1st firing also known as the bisque firing.  And then the next stage , the glazing.

        Part Three coming up in a few days !  Unless something goes horribly wrong !  Who Knows !

Liz

How I Make a Dolphin.

      When I wrote this title at first it said "How to Make  a Dolphin " then I realized that was wrong.  I'm very literal minded evidently.  There are a million ways to do something , especially in Art+Craft.  This is the way I do it , because it's obvious to me that's how I should do it.  To me , that's the definition of Art,  when you make something you see in your mind to your own specifications, regardless of what someone else might think. That doesn't  necessarily make it good art  but art definitely.  Where it melds into the area of Craft is that it might be considered beautiful.  And useful. Of course, my work could only be useful in self-defense and only if you have really good aim.  But I do hope my things are beautiful , all I've ever wanted to do is beautify the world and make people happy with my work.  Depending on your own ambitions that might seem to be a very lofty or sadly small goal. I just know it's my goal.  In reference to the defintion of Art , I'm sure that people have died in arguments about it.  There are many , many differing and valid opinions on art.  And despite my afore-mentioned art history degree or maybe because of it , that's really not my area, .. original slacker remember...and it gives me a headache.

      By the way, there may not be a lot of words used to describe How-to's but a picture does say a thousand words , after all.  And the long and short of it is , I move the clay around until it does what I want it to do. So, pictures are probably more explanatory than that, right?  Well, I hope so anyway.

liz