I have just begun working on a new sculpture. I am still at the very begining stages with just a lump of conditioned clay and delusions of grandeur.
Follow me along on my journey if you are interested in seeing the twists and turns my characters can take on throughout the sculpting "birthing" process.
As I move the clay around first with rote technique and then with subtle intuition as the clay comes to life as a "Mystical Being" with a voice, a history, and a soul.
Sometimes the story is revealed to me immediately. Other times it slowly evoles and even takes place as I manipulate the clay. Either way, the process can not be rushed or hurried along. From mixing the custom skin tones to placing the features on the face each step along the way slowly evolves and is birthed after just the right gestational period.
Phase I: It all begins with the clay
I always start my characters by conditioning and custom mixing very large batches of polymer clay. This is a mixture of several brands (Fimo, Cernit, Kato, Sculpey) of clay in many different flesh-like tones. Some of the clay is old, dry and crumbly (actually, all of it is at least 6 years old), and some of it is soft a squooshy (even though it has been sitting on my shelf for years).
I bigin by cutting all of my clay into uniform chunks. It's just like preping for stir fry! The blade I use is called a tissue blade. It is very sharp and very thin. It is used by scientist to cut thin slices of tissue in order to examine under a microscope.
I put the chunks into a food processor that is dedicated to polymer clay. Once a food processor is used for polymer you can never completely clean all of the residue off so, it is no longer good for use with food. Truth be told, it probably wouldn't kill you but, it isn't very appetizing either.
The clay gets whizzed around into a gravel like mixture. I store it in a zip lock back to keep it clean, free of dust and debris. It will not dry out like Earth clays. Polymer is a PVC based, maleable plastic. It does not contain any water so, I do not need to worry about my storage methods being airtight. It will keep for years or even decades as long as it is stored in a cool place. A lot of my clay is more than 10 years old so, I think that my art studio is kinda cool! :)
After the food processor ride I roll my clay out, first with a rolling pin and then with my polymer clay D.R.E.A.M. Machine, a polymer dedicated pasta machine will work as well. What this does is it mixes the various clay particles of all different formulas and colors into a homogenous and uniform slab of clay. Polymer clay that is not sufficiently conditioned will not cure properly. The result can be a finished piece that is fragile, brittle, cracked, pitted, or bubbled. Here I have 3.5 pounds of conditioned clay to work with.
