Week 6

BA3a Reflective journal

Mon 30th Oct – 05th Nov

This week I have had a setback I am having an internal argument between which I find more pressing at the moment my practical or written work, I know its equal but I am starting to find that when I finally settle into one I am restless as I am thinking about the other and can’t focus. Furthermore the sculpture hasn’t progressed as far as would like, I have had a real trial with the ears this week, I know that I want tall all hearing unavoidable, noble ears like that of the god Anubis, who is a judge of souls therefore my hybrid will have the appearance of something much wiser and not potentially of this world which is perfect for my need to portray this superior being. In a way I want something Lovecraftian, a creature not of this world that is so superior to us that it gives off an aura of indifference.

Despite this I have made progress I have created cave like fillings for the eye sockets using chicken wire and clay in preparation to add the eyes when necessary, furthermore I have fused the jaw as it was weakening, and I feel that the position is appropriate depending on how I apply the lips and cheeks I can turn it into a relaxed jaw or a tensed snarl.

Alternatively with the ears I found myself in real difficulty, as when creating them I first tried a foam board template which I then applied plastacine and mod roc, which once dried I removed the plastacine and foam board however the left ear was completely wrong, shallower and thinner than the opposite therefore I removed it altogether. Now I was left with the dilemma of how to create a perfect reflection of the remaining ear. Initially I tried using wet clay to create a releasing agent which I coated over the ear, the I tried taking a mod roc cast of each side which I would then fold in on themselves s and attach at the seem to create a revers. This failed as the mode roc structure was knackered when I folded it. Therefore I ultimately I settled on using clay to sculpt a sold ear using the measurements of the remaining ear but in reverse. This I then took a mod roc cast of which finally worked.

Yet when I attached it the head, in the same position something was really bugging me, the ears just seemed wrong. I researched a s many variations of dog ears a s possible, all tall eared species. Dobermans, jackals, Mexican hairless dogs etc. And what I found was that I needed a larger margin between the two ears, an angled rise so that the ears jutted out from the sides further.

Therefore I detached the inside of the ears and pulled them further over the edge of the head I secured them with wire and nails acting as pins, whilst the ears were held in place I secured them with mod roc. I was pleased with outcome but it felt like a hollow success as I had spent so much time pissing about with these ears. Yet I suppose this is worth it as I need them to dwarf the on lookers to cast a shadow so that their presence is felt. It’s sort of like the principal of an owl when it sins its head 360 degrees it has no blind spots you can’t sneak up on it, as with this creature its ears should look like they could detect a pin dropping. I think I need to start making drawings to support these attributes. Below I have attached images documenting the new position of the ears.

Speaking of drawings I want to start considering the position of the body, to do so I have started planning a drawing which will show the creature in three positions overlapping one another, the quadruped on all fours like a beast, a crouched position like a bear standing on its hind legs difficult but superior, then a bipedal human stance on its hind legs. In doing this I want to show in one drawing ow the creature metamorphosis’s from beast to humanoid without changing form, therefore showing its superiority to humanity and its link back to the natural world.

Furthermore my student mate who was creating a human female figure from a similar armature as that which I wish to use presented her finished clay covered structure in an exhibition later this week, which I went to see I was fascinated by her application of the clay, the rough surface had cracked leaving what felt like a river bed aesthetic which when combined with a simplified perched figure produce an intriguing piece of work. Although the work was about feminism I couldn’t help but feel as if it was more of a statement about poverty or draught within third world countries. Below is an image of her work. An interesting detail is her application of the clay between the figures breasts where she has rubbed the clay in her fingers have left ridges which become almost a rib cage.

Whilst In St Georges building I went looking around the studios and came across Joe Cole’s studio, I was inspired by her work instantly, her use of clay and mud to create earthly canvases upon which she makes beautiful drawings of figures in a wide variety of emotions. I was interested in how I could possibly use earthy natural materials to implicate a connection between the natural and human world within my work to help indicate a hybridisation.

Finally on the Friday I had a tutorial in which I came to realise I need to start taking breaks from obsessing over the technical side of my practice the documentation, application and development of my work, and instead start refocusing on the thematic side, as in how the work projects my ideas. How my work engages the audience and creates dialogues, or how it does not. By creating several drawings of the creatures positions and features and considering what these physical attributes resemble would be the most efficient way of doing this.