ART 338 / Portrait Bust

Due Thursday, October 23

Assignment: Create a life size clay portrait bust working from life in 6 class sessions.

Submitting the Work: Complete the sculpture, photograph it as required (3 views, careful framing and lighting etc.) and email jpegs before Thursday the 23^th class. Have the sculpture itself in class on the 23^th for a short critique after which we will allow the head to get leather hard for hollowing on Monday.

Evaluation: This sculpture will be evaluated on two counts:

#1 Good observation methods:

The use of physical notations (marks, lines, coils of clay) that aid observation including:

1. Quadrant marks as a way to judge symmetry

2. Alignment lines to judge relative positions of features

3. Proportion marks that divide up the total object into correct ratios

Employing good vantage point practices including:

1. Moving around the model at a steady, constant pace to create a work that unifies all points of view into a coherent object.

2. Always positioning your sculpture and the model in the same visual relationship to your eye (both level and angle).

3. Standing back far enough from your sculpture so you can see it as a whole.

Developing your sculpture in a consistent progressive manner including:

1. Beginning with overall observations by roughing out basic forms (i.e.-seeing and modeling forms in terms of their underlying geometry).

2. Developing all parts of the sculpture equally (not leaving certain views or parts of the figure less attended to).

3. Only moving on to more detail when underlying topology is well established.

#2. Creating a compelling sculptural portrait by achieving an appropriate balance between realism (a high degree of likeness w/ accuracy in terms of proportions and alignments), naturalism (how human the sculpture looks, capturing a sense of ‘being’) and a compelling sculptural presence (how the object feels as a thing in itself).