I have been a sculpting fool this past couple of weeks. I've made so many santa faces I'm dreaming faces! Each face takes me an hour or two to sculpt. I use glass or plastic eyes (plastic...not a good idea when I am baking the heads, but if I bake longer and at a lower heat, I can manage it without distortion.) The eyes tend to speak to me as I lay the clay on. Sometimes just one swipe of the modeling tool sets me on a whole new track in where I am going with the face. I may start thinking, 'he is a serious face', and then, with a little more clay on the cheek than I wanted, suddenly his eyes sparkle and I am adding more clay and making him laugh. They evolve for me, taking me with them as I bring forth the face they want to be. Once I add the wool to these faces they will take on a whole new look and feel. Some faces that I am not too happy with will sometimes be the ones I step back from and admire as a finished santa, and sigh with pleasure. I never know where this process will take me.
Check back for the next stage of santa building. Bases and bodies....
Posts
