bird man sculpture

[KatyL]

I'm working on this now. First attempt at a "human" not so much human, but trying to do something a little individualistic and fun. Hopefully the next try will be better.
Full body shot

Head shot:

Reverse side of wing: not quite done yet.

[evaldart]

The composite figure is a fine figurative place to work from. Lends itself to the challenges of compositional points transition as components get mixed and morphed. Unexpected gesture is often the reward. Good work!

[rika]

Wow, I love it, Katy! The skillful rendering and composition makes it delightful to look at. I really appreciate the fact that you made only one wing and left the other arm human, a very effective stylistic approach. Also, it doesn't succumb to the temptation of an action figure that we so often witness in this genre. I'll mention this, but it's just nitpicking, I'd make his neck a bit more classically gracefully Greekly bent but that's just me.
Looks like you have used oil based clay and wax. What do you want to cast it in?

[fritchie]

Great piece, Katy! My pickiness at this stage focuses on the small irregularities throughout the human part of the figure, at least. I expect you will erase at least some of those, though perhaps some will remain as a matter of choice.

[KatyL]

Thanks everyone who commented. It was fun to work on, and I learned a lot about making human figures. This was a straight human figure previously, but i thought that was somewhat trite, considering it says nothing. I took about a months "thinking" about how to solve this meaninglessness. Rika, I had the neck the way you described and it simply did not set well with me. It would be like exaggerating an obvious exaggeration, pulling more into cartoon land. I will probably just cast it in metal at some point. Right now I am pretty well finished with it. There are a few spots that i will need to do in wax because the clay is too soft. As easy as softer clay is to move around, it is garbage when it comes to holding good detail. I will stick with hard plastalina after this (for figure work). I've learned from my last bronzes that bronze tends to eliminate what we see as flaws in the clay. Bronze, at this stage, is too expensive to consider. I am making a silicone mold to keep it safe.

I forgot to mention that it is 25.5"X 13".

[tobias]

Fantastic. I would like to see some texture on the head and into the neck. I think that would solve the transition/neck issue for me. I have a painter friend that I've been involved in discussions about this human animal meld. He did a painting of a woman with an owls head. Same transition issue.
Great sculpture KatyL!

[KatyL]

Originally Posted by tobias

Fantastic. I would like to see some texture on the head and into the neck. I think that would solve the transition/neck issue for me. I have a painter friend that I've been involved in discussions about this human animal meld. He did a painting of a woman with an owls head. Same transition issue.
Great sculpture KatyL!

There is an inner argument with myself about scale here. If a scaled down half bird/man was standing in front of me, I would not be able to "read" separate texture on the feathers. It would be a bit like fur, really. Just as you would into be able to see small detail on a person standing 50 feet away from you. The smaller you get, the farther away. I think if I were sculpting a larger sculpture, I would put more detail. There is also a sculptural "shading" issue. Less texture reads like a light color in sculpture, while texture reads as a dark color. Since the bird is a seagull, I want it to read lighter. I would also like to experiment with a light grey patina.

I included tiny lines in it before. I smudged them all out, preferring to go with form and shape instead. In the wax, I was thinking of pressing the impression of something like real feathers here and there for a texture, I think that will be much more subtle.

[mantrid]

Originally Posted by KatyL

There is an inner argument with myself about scale here. If a scaled down half bird/man was standing in front of me, I would not be able to "read" separate texture on the feathers. It would be a bit like fur, really. Just as you would into be able to see small detail on a person standing 50 feet away from you. The smaller you get, the farther away. I think if I were sculpting a larger sculpture, I would put more detail. .

I agree with you on this. With this in mind I would have been more subtle with the feathers on the wing. At the moment they look odd with the rest of the sculpture ie they look too cartoon or toy like compared to the rest which is much more realistic.

Originally Posted by KatyL

I included tiny lines in it before. I smudged them all out, preferring to go with form and shape instead. In the wax, I was thinking of pressing the impression of something like real feathers here and there for a texture, I think that will be much more subtle.

I wouldnt do that for exactly the reason you previously mentioned

[rika]

Katy, I find your bird man very intriguing and exciting, so a more fine tuned consideration tells me that there's still something missing that can make it great. Sometimes it's a very small thing. I think it has to do with presence. For something so surprisingly bold and odd is a little too...too tame or is missing the energy of the weird...don't know if this comes across as I mean it. I don't think making the wing more realistic or adding feathers or imprints to the neck area ( I get why you decided against the classical look there) would change that...but those are the same areas that could use some of that energy, and yes, the more energetic, less controlled surface treatment would just do that.

Or maybe all it needs is just to grow to life size...the scale issue/ consideration is very important here I think.

[KatyL]

(Mantrid) I had a lot of problems with the wings. Wax was a good idea, but the problems with the texture multiplied. My plan was to mold the wing separately, fix it in another pour of wax, re-mold and that would be the final product. So, yes, I know there are problems. The second mold will cost less than having a suspicious wing.

(Rika) I thank you for saying it was intriguing and exciting. I also feel there is something missing. I think that is why (except for fixing the wing) I consider it done. Sort of an "exercise" not really, conceptually, a finished piece. Is making a mold of it a "lost leader"? Probably. I think of all the sculptures I have wadded up and thrown back into the clay bin. Personally, I like art. I like making it. Not all art I make will, or should sell. It may have been a monumental waste of time, as a piece, but it is still something interesting to look at. That "something missing" may be something fixable, obvious, or maybe it is something that is missing in most of my art. I've also wondered if what is missing is what everyone "expects." Some kind of visual cliche.

I thought of this at first as an illustration from a story that vanished at some remote time. What is happening in the figure is probably a turning point in the story, but because the story is, in fact, missing, the gesture, the figure become very strange artifacts. I started this last June, and frankly, have never been able to figure out what was happening.

It's like this is the place in the fairy tale where he realizes that he will not turn back into the prince and must remain a half-seagull castaway forever. (Or something). Is that not the story? I don't know.

But you are right. I have to start art with more of a concept in tow. That's okay, the next one will be better.

[rika]

Moving on could be a good thing or... not. When you're this close I would say not. You may be at the brink of an important discovery about the work...or you...or both. So the energy seems to be one of disappointment, regret, no turning back, sadness...all very usable in some tweaking with gesture. The wing and arm already tell that, it's just the head/neck that doesn't yet. I don't see how that cannot be adjusted...I really think it may be a tiny tilt in the head or something. It's your piece, I don't want to get too much into detail. But if you move on, walk away disappointed now it's not helpful. Take a break if you need to but go back to it. And please for god's sake do not toss it out!!
It is about that turning point.

[evaldart]

I dont have any problem with the stance. It is very self-consciously tensed and internally flexed one; quite intentionally rigid. It is not a gesture that is attempting to exploit a linear flow - if anything, it is a gesture that "drawing-in" as opposed to extending-out. So the shortish transition between the shoulders and head agree completely with the "hunched" self-inflicted constraining of the figure. Probably there was unnecessary fussing-about with anatomy - tedious smoothing and detailing that led you away from the more urgent matters of tending to your compositional sensibility. The significance, though, is indeed where it should be, within the CORE of the figure (and you cant actually "see" the core); so I say it was a fine thing to have done. And you're right, it can't matter what becomes of it as an artifact - you definitely got the goods out of it. Let the OTHER self decide whether or not it should be cast and sold or mashed-up and put back into the bin. That other self is not concerned about the rigors of aesthetics. We all, fortunately, have our
others selves to take care of "business". Nice work.

[KatyL]

These replies have given me something to think about. There are a lot of thoughtful assessments and critiques, from a group of highly skilled and talented artists. At this point, except for fixing the ends of the wings to eliminate the striping I could not eliminate in the wax, I really would like to move on. The great thing about making a mold is that I can work on this at a later time. It just goes into the closet with all the other molds for a while. I have about 5 more "ideas" brewing around my head. One thing is certain, I really must do some more maquettes before jumping into a large sculpture. I think one of my main problems as an artist is that I avoid doing the ground work I should do before starting the final project. I really need to work on doing some miniature versions or even just drawings before starting to work.

Evaldart: It could be that I was unnecessarily fussing with tedious smoothing and detailing. I think that it is much rougher than it looks. I just wanted to get the right muscles and so on in the right places, as well as the right (or near as I could make it) measurements. I think it is off in many respects. I eyeballed a lot of my measurements, and did not have a real human model, just a few anatomy books.