Forging ahead

I thought I'd share my sculpting process.  Just be warned.....it isn't pretty.

I started Thelma's head by wadding up paper towels and applying masking tape to keep it all together in kind of an oval shape.  I often use aluminum foil in place of the paper towels and it holds itself together with no tape needed.  Since Thelma's head is larger than other ones I've made, I used paper mache pulp (Celluclay) on the back (under my thumb) since most of it will be covered with hair.  It's less expensive than clay. I'll also use pulp to cover parts of Thelma's body for the same reason.  Her clothes will hide it.

Next, I flattened out a piece of clay and applied it to the face area.  I smoothed it out, but not too carefully because I'll do a better job once I've added her features.

Usually I start with the nose.  It's pretty much in the center of the face and everything else spreads out from there.  Then the all-important eyebrows.  Sorry for the blurry pictures.  I haven't mastered the art of snapping photos with a sticky hand. Then I do a rough placement of the eyes, and move down to the mouth. 

This involves applying a small clay oval and pushing and prodding with my clay tools till it looks like a mouth that could possibly go "shhhhh!"

After all of that, I applied a bigger oval to the chin area and worked it in.  And since she's an older lady, she needed jowls.  I didn't have to look very far for a model..... just a short stroll into the bathroom and a quick glance in the mirror. 

Now she'll rest a while until I have a chance to get back to her.  One of the great things about paperclay is that more can be added to a piece that's already dry by just brushing on some water.  Also, clay that's dried thoroughly can be removed by chipping away and sanding.  So even though at the moment she looks like a third-grade art project, when all is said and done she should look very similar to the librarians I remember from my youth.  Here's hoping anyway...And don't laugh!  Thelma doesn't like gigglers either.