Project by Mary Engel of Athens, Ga.
Mary makes incredible clay sculptures. These days she is enjoying making large sculptures of dogs that are embellished with found objects. Mary says one of the greatest compliments she received came when a real dog saw one of her dog sculptures and began to wildly bark at it.
Materials:
clay
clay tools
epoxy
various "found" objects
Steps:
1. For these pieces, Mary combines two basic ceramic construction techniques, coil and slab. A lying-down or seated dog starts with a flat slab in the shape of an animal’s body "foot print."
2. To make the body, roll out coils (long snake-like forms) and set aside.
3. To join the coils to the slab or to other coils, first scratch them with a fork or needle tool to make lines in the clay. Brush clay slip into the scratches to help the clay stay attached. This is called slip and score.
4. Push the coil onto the slab or other coil and smooth the clay the seam. Continue to wrap the coils around the form and gradually make the clay walls move inward to close the form.
5. When building seated or standing figures, build the legs and let the clay stiffen before joining them to the rest of the body.
6. Have the finished form in mind the whole time so that the walls move in and out at the right places.
7. When the form is complete, let it stiffen the carve details into the clay.
8. Fire the piece in a kiln to bisque temperature (cone 04).
9. Most ceramic artists paint on a glaze and fire the piece again to get a shiny glass surface. I cover the piece with a two-part epoxy (PC-7) and then embed found objects.
Website: www.maryengel.net
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