Different Things to Make Sculptures Out Of

Sculpture creates three-dimensional art from a variety of materials.

Carving, casting, modeling and assembling are the four basic techniques of sculpture. Subtractive processes involve removing or carving out material. This is seen in stone and wood carving, and some modeling. The additive process is reflected in assembly techniques, in which mixed materials are added together to create a sculpture. Casting, which makes use of molds, can be both additive and subtractive at different stages.

Paper Mache

Paper mache sculpture begins, as the name implies, with paper. Treating paper for this form of sculpture requires requires coating it with a paste-like mixture. This coat lends it a very slight rigidity and adhesiveness while wet, and dries hard once it is placed. The paste for paper mache can be mixed in many ways. One simple recipe calls for one part white glue, four parts flour and six parts water. Once paper is coated in this paste, it is wrapped around an armature such as a simple balloon or a wire frame. It is then allowed to dry. Basic paper mache is a form of modeling.

Clay

Plasticine clay holds its shape and dries when left in open air.

Many types of clay are available for modeling, and the many methods of sculpting with clay include coil-and-slab construction, clay figure modeling, mold-making and slip casting. A clay sculpture may require kiln firing to harden, it might dry in a conventional oven or it might air-dry, depending on the type of clay. In addition to modeling, clay can be carved. This may be done to add detail to an unfinished clay sculpture before firing, or the technique may be applied to wet or dry clay to create a bas relief sculpture.

Wood and Stone

Wood and stone are primarily the media of carved sculptures, but they can also contribute to assembly sculptures. A sculptor may choose from a variety of wood and stone types, depending on his needs. These may range from softer materials, such as pine and sandstone, to hard materials suited to a more advanced sculptor, such as marble or granite. A sculptor typically uses an array of mallets, chisels and cutting blades to shape and smooth the surfaces of these sculptures as he carves their final shapes.

Metal

A cast bronze sculpture begins as a model carved from wax.

Advanced craftsmen may create metal sculptures by welding, cutting and polishing metal sheets and fragments into a desired form, but more intermediate aspiring sculptors may find metal casting easier to master. In casting, the detailed model is carved from wax first. Plaster or clay are then poured around the wax model and allowed to dry, which creates a mold around the wax. Bronze or another molten metal is poured into the space occupied by wax. The metal's heat melts the wax away, and the mold is chipped off after the metal cools and hardens. What remains is a bronze sculpture identical to the wax model it replaced.

Found Objects

Found-object sculptures may be assembled from nearly anything. A sculptor might assemble this sculpture from disused and discarded objects, stone or wood taken from nature, or anything else he finds. The artist may choose to assemble individual pieces, with specific meanings or points of interest, into a larger finished piece which then takes on a greater interest of its own.

References

• 1. University of Arizona: Found Object Art Lesson Plan
• 2. The J. Paul Getty Museum: Working With Sculpture (Education at the Getty)
• 3. University of Texas at Arlington: Art + History: Clay
• 4. University of Missouri: Museum of Anthropology: Metal Working in India - Lost Wax Casting
• 5. Saint Joseph School: Recipe for Paper Mache