Sculpting Booshkas

You may be wondering why there is a mix of white and tan clay here. The answer is very interesting. I didn't realize that I only had a small amount of white clay left. So, I had to resume with the tan oil clay, which was tucked away in the back of a shelf in our art room. This makes it very difficult to evaluate any bumps or inconsistent textures in the sculpture. It's a tie-dye sculptural nightmare. The only way for me to be sure that the surface is smooth, is to hold this sculpture up to the light and look for shadows. Note to self: buy more white clay. Oil clay gets softer the more you handle it, so I put the head in the refrigerator to keep it from softening.

To make crevasses in the face, I carve out chunks of clay with a dental tool. Then I dip a paint brush into a tiny bit of paint thinner, which helps break down the clay and smooth out sharp edges. Another way to smooth things up is to sculpt over Saran Wrap.  

Throughout the process I keep checking for symmetry. That's my cold coffee in the corner, which I had accidentally dipped the paint thinner brush into. Another note to self: keep the coffee on another table.