It is a wonderful experience to sculpt the bust of a person; a process that moves me through a whole range of emotions from doubt and despair through excitement, exhilaration and triumph. My experience as a sculpture teacher has been that many people want to sculpt realistic busts and figures yet have the belief that it is beyond their capability. The result of this belief is an unwillingness to stay with the process long enough to go through the lows to the highs. We have learned culturally to reject, avoid and deny the lows, fearful that we will get stuck in them, and to put on a happy face while avoiding activities that might bring us to frustration and self doubt. We are culturally terrified of "failure". However, such a path of avoidance and denial leads us to dwell as shades in the mist of vague discomfort, all the while wearing masks of emotions unfelt. Doubt, fear, failure, sorrow, despair are the stones of the path and gateway to strength, self discovery, joy, and the expression of our wholeness, our Human Being. There is no wholeness without the assimilation of and openness to all possibilities.

Sculpting with clay is a process that, if entered into fully and with the commitment to persist, will open many doors to our essential Being, a way Home to the infinite and eternal home of the here and now. It is both simple and mystical, as we are simple and mystical. Usually, the most difficult step is the first one, stepping past the belief that we cannot do this, that we are somehow flawed and lacking what it takes to give form to a lump of clay(earth). It is my experience that it is here that a teacher can prove most useful by presenting a "Way to begin and a Way to go about the work" that is simple enough to prompt, for but a moment, the conviction (or at least the possibility) in the student that "I can do this." I have attempted to do this with my method of building the head, step-by-step, with clay. It is a method that assumes no special talent or knowledge from the person wishing to try and it is presented with certainty and faith that the student can and will succeed. I have been a delighted companion of inevitable Creative Expression and I invite you to surrender to Her guidance, joy and fullness, for She is in you and you in Her.

Thus do I offer this article on the process of sculpting the bust of an African Woman, with photos of all the steps, the "ugly" ones too, so that you will not feel like giving up because the head looks so bad that there is no chance for a happy outcome.

Supplies: Twenty five pounds of moist modeling clay. I recommend a light colored, stoneware clay with no grog. Very fine sand is OK. A 12" ruler and a pair of calipers. A modeling stand made of a 6" square, ¾" thick piece of wood with an 8" long, ½" diameter dowel glued into a hole in the center. Another modeling stand made with a 12" x 16" rectangle of 1" thick plywood with a 14" long, 2" x 2" piece of wood screwed and glued to the center. A few simple wooden or plastic modeling tools, a bristle brush (an old toothbrush will do fine), a soft elephant's ear sponge, a small cat's tongue brush, an empty plastic dish for water, some drywall sanding screen , a teasing needle, some wire loop tools for hollowing out the piece and a cutting wire. Plastic produce bags and a spray bottle. A sturdy turntable is also recommended. The materials for finishing and coloring the bust will be listed later.

1. Model a cylinder of clay about 2" in diameter and three inches tall and push it over the dowel on the modeling stand. Then model a large egg shape about six inches tall and three inches wide. Make it wider towards the top and gradually narrower towards the bottom. From the side view it should be fairly straight up and down in the front with a large rounded bulge toward the back. Look at photos 1 & 2 and model yours like the pictures. Take your time on this step. We are approximating the general shape of an adult human skull. )Photos 1 & 2).

2. Make a mark towards the top of the head to indicate the hair line. You will know instinctively where it is. If you get it in the wrong place, your own forehead will begin to itch! If you get it right you will have a warm, soft feeling on your own hairline. Then measure from the hairline to the bottom of the chin and divide the face into three equal parts. You will be adding two lines, one for the eyebrows and one for the bottom of the nose. The general proportional rule is that the length of the forehead (hairline to eyebrow) Equals the length from eyebrow to bottom of nose, equals the length from bottom of nose to bottom of chin. Then divide the head in half vertically with a line down the middle of the face and divide the head horizontally with a line halfway from top of head to bottom of chin. The horizontal center line is the eyeline. With your thumbs, press in the eye sockets so that the top of the indent comes to the eyebrow line and the center falls on the eyeline. From the side view, the outside edge of the socket should be set back so that the center can be seen clearly. (Photos 3 & 4).

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3. Put a triangular piece of clay from the eyeline down to the bottom of nose line and smooth it into the face, shaping the center portion of the nose (without the nostrils). Always be sure to work back and forth from the front view to the profile view. (Photos 5, 6 & 7).

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4. Add two smaller balls of clay to each side of the nose towards the bottom and against the face for the nostrils. Smooth the edges onto the nose and face so that the nostrils don't look like giant warts, but be careful you don't flatten them out too much. Then, with a rounded end tool or the rounded end of a brush, press in the nostril holes. (Photos 8 thru 10).

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5. The mouth opening lies about ¼ to 1/3 the way down from nose bottom to chin. Because this person is smiling, the opening is drawn a little higher as the upper lip slides up over the upper gums and teeth as it stretches into the smile. I've drawn a line for the bottom of the upper lip and then dug in and pressed the lower lip area in and out of the way. Then I added a coil of clay across the face below the nose for the upper lip. The bottom of the coil is smoothed into the mouth opening and the top is smoothed into the face below the nose to form a full, curled up lip with very little space between the lip and the nose. The profile view shows the curve of the lip up to the nose and around the upper jaw. (Photos 11 thru 13).

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6. I have placed a flat coil of clay below the upper lip, curving it back on both sides and tucking it under the lip. This is the upper dentition. Then, with a sharp, thin tool (I use a flat, thin, spatulate shaped plastic tool and a metal teasing needle), I shaped the teeth. There will be eight teeth sculpted but the lower lip will cover most of the deepest teeth on either side and six teeth will ultimately be seen. After the teeth are carved out, they are smoothed with a soft, small brush and rounded, especially where the gums curve over the teeth. (Photos 16 thru 19).

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7. A fat, long coil is now added for the lower lip. The curve of the lower lip must match the curve of the upper lip. The inside of the coil is smoothed into the opening of the mouth and the bottom of the coil is curved down to the chin. The lower lip is a little narrower in the very center and fuller on either side. The lower lip is placed below the bottom of the upper teeth and space is left that goes into the open mouth. (Photos 17 thru 19).

8. Now I add coils of clay to build out the cheek bones, the jaw and the chin. I add pieces on both sides at the same time to maintain some semblance of symmetry. A deep crease is left between the cheek and the muscles of the upper lip from the outside corner of the nostril to the corners of the mouth. When a person smiles, the cheeks contract and protrude and the muscles become defined around the mouth down to the chin. (Photos 20 thru 22).

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9. To re-establish the proportions, I add clay to the top of the head. The eyeline must be the midpoint of the head but measured with a closed mouth. Because the mouth is open in a big smile, the eyeline is a bit above the horizontal mid point of the head. The sides of the head are made fairly straight up with a slight hollowness by the temples, just above the zygomatic arch (cheek bone as it extends along the side of the head to the ear). Clay is also added to the back of the head as well. The forehead, when seen in the profile view, should go almost straight up from the bridge of the nose in the adult. Note that the clay is applied roughly to build up the complete mass before it is smoothed and refined.

10. In this step some clay was added to the width of the neck to help support the growing head. The curve of the back of the neck was also refined somewhat. (Photos 24 thru 27).

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12. Two balls of clay have been added in the center of the eye sockets, partially flattened and then the edges smoothed into the sockets. The eyeballs should be rounded but should not stick out too far. From the profile view, the front of the eyeball should sit behind the bridge of the nose about 3/8 of an inch. (Photos 27 & 28).

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13. A coil of clay is then added at the base of each eyeball and the lower edge is smoothed into the face to form the lower lid. The upper edge is left so that the lid sits on the eyeball. (Photos 29 & 30).

14. For the first step of modeling the upper lid I added two coils of clay and placed them along the eyebrow line. The coils were made fatter on the outside end and pointed on the inside. The pointed, inside end was placed right above the eyeball on the inside corner. The inside edge is pressed down and smoothed into the eye socket and the upper edge is left forward and smoothed over into the forehead. This coil forms the eyebrow ridge.
15. Another, thinner and more uniform coil is then added just above the eyeball and smoothed on the top edge to form the actual upper lid. When the eye is open, this upper lid actually tucks in under the eyebrow coil added in the previous step. The upper lid can now be widened or left thin depending on the expression desired. I pulled the lid forward and closed the eye some. Usually, when someone smiles, their eyes close up some. (Photos 31, 32 & 33).

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16. Here I have added some more clay to the eyebrow ridge and roughly laid in some lines for the eyebrows themselves. I also intaglio the eyeballs by pressing a round wooden tool into the clay to create a shallow depression for the iris. Then I made a deeper hole for the pupil. (Photos 34 thru 36).

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17. The front of the ear lies half way between the forehead and the back of the head. The top of the ear lies at the level of the eyebrow and the bottom of the ear is at the level of the bottom of the nose. After mapping the position on both sides of the head, I add question mark coils of clay placing them so the earlobe lies just in front of the vertical line and the top of the ear comes right to the line. I put both these coils on and check the head from the front to be sure they are on the same level and also from the top to be sure they are the same distance back. Then I smooth the coil on, create a groove around the top edge down to the earlobe and then dig the ear holes. The inner flange is built up and a small piece of clay is added for the protective cartilage directly in front of the ear hole. Then the ear is smoothed and both are checked for symmetry. (Photos 37 thru 39). I also put some ear holes in as I will add real earrings to the finished piece.

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18. I remove the head from the small sculpting stand and put it over the wood on the larger stand. This allows me the room to build up the neck and the shoulders. Be sure the shoulders are rounded forwards and the head sits forward on the neck to create a flowing and natural curve from head to neck to back.
19. Coils of clay are then added for the muscles that go from the mastoid process (a little bone bump behind the ear) to the collar bones and the collar bones are also added with coils of clay. These are smoothed on. A depression is made at the hollow of the neck between the collar bones and the neck muscle on the side toward which the head is turned is softened.
20. To model the hair, I moisten and scratch up the whole head and then cover it with small, flattened balls of clay. These are then stippled with a firm bristle brush or a tooth brush to create the texture of short, coarse hair. (Photos 40 thru 42).

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21. To add a suggestion of a piece of cloth, I roll out a large slab of clay between two pieces of canvas. Then I scratch and wet the surface of the bust and drape the slab onto the moistened surface. I press it on firmly, clean up the edge and re-texture the clay with the canvas to keep it like clothing. I have also added the top of the arm to make it look like the cloth goes over one shoulder and under the other. Finally, I used a loop tool and the end of a small dowel to create a textured, African pattern across the clothing. (Photos 43 thru 48).

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22. At this point, I let the whole sculpture stiffen up just a little, so it is still moist but won't easily loose its shape. Then I refine all the curves with a piece of drywall sanding screen and then finish the surfaces of the skin with a sponge and a little water. I like to dab the surface with the sponge to soften the way the light hits it, making it look very skin like.
23. I let the piece dry a little more to the almost leather hard stage. Then I cut it in half with a piece of wire and hollow out the inside, leaving about a ½" thick shell. To hollow it I use a loop tool and I usually lay the halves of the sculpture carefully on a soft pillow. I don't want to mare the surface. I also like to use a teasing needle and poke lots of little holes over the inside surfaces of both halves to let the clay breathe. This helps more consistent drying and firing. Finally, the edges of both halves are scratched and wet with slip made from the same clay and then joined together. The joint is filled with more clay where needed and then smoothed out and the textures are fixed to match the rest of the piece. The sculpture is then covered loosely with a plastic bag and allowed to dry out very slowly. When it is completely dry, It is fired to cone 04 very slowly and carefully to avoid cracking or blowing up.

FINISHING THE FIRED SCULPTURE

Supplies: A can of Red, Auto body primer paint. A can of Dark Gray, Auto body primer paint. A can of Flat White spray paint. A variety of small paint brushes. Paint thinner. Terra Cotta colored acrylic paint. Burnt Sienna Acrylic paint. Alizarin Crimson Acrylic paint. Burnt Sienna and Dk Brown dry paint pigment. Paste wax or Dorland's Wax Medium.

1. Spray the entire piece with the red, auto body primer. It usually takes about three coats. Let each coat dry between sprayings and follow directions on the can. (Photo 49).
2. Spray some of the gray primer paint into a jar lid and, with a brush, paint the hair, the darks of the eyes and the dark areas of the clothing pattern. (Photo 50 & 51).

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3. Do the same with the flat white paint, painting the whites of the eyes, the teeth and the white areas of the clothing. When these colors are dry, brush areas of the skin with the acrylic, terra cotta colored paint and then wipe it off. Repeat the coloring and wiping process until the skin has all been painted. Using a green/black acrylic paint, do the same process with the hair.
4. Add some Alizarin Crimson high lights to the lips and some burnt sienna shadows to the upper lids and creases of the nose. Then mix some burnt sienna and dark brown dry pigment to a spatula full of wax and stipple it over all the skin and hair areas of the sculpture. Let this dry and then add more in areas you want darker. Do a mixture of dark brown pigment and wax and darken the hair more. Finally, use some plain wax and paint it on the white areas and over the patterned clothing. Let the wax dry and then buff it up. For the final touch, put on a pair of African Style earrings! (Photos 52 thru 54).

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This is a presentation of a process that anyone can follow. It is not meant to be rigid or dogmatic and I hope you will use what works and add your own processes and personal improvements as you go along. Colors can be changed, experimented with and different kinds of clays can be used. It is my intention to give you a place to start and a method to proceed with, a map until you are more familiar with where you are going.

For me, working with clay is a meditation, a way to enter a very wonderful and full world. I actually call it "Muditation" or meditating with mud. It is an elemental experience, an exploration of the combinations of the elements, molded by Spirit. An Act of Creation. Awesome!

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