Call to Arms

Before this project, I had only played around with some clay or sculpy. I had never taken on a sculpture of any kind or to this level.

How I started:

When I was reading about some of the 19th century sculptures, I was fascinated with "Call to Arms" by Auguste Rodin. The original piece was created between 1912-1918 out of bronze.

Then I collected as many images as I could at http://www.pinterest.com/nodgedafunk/call-to-arms/
The best ones I found of the front and back where from the Philadelphia Museum of Art website.

For my material, I thought I would try to use some pottery clay that I had sitting around in my art supplies, but it wasn't as stable or usable as I'd hoped.

Changing Materials:

I did some research online and had seen a wire frame base that looked like it would work well. So I decided to try that. I also say others using sculpting clay that is easier to work with.

Wire Frame:

I had some soft wire in my art supplies and was able to make a rough form for the skeletons of the two figures in the sculpture.

Plasticine:

Now that had the right material for the job, I started over.

Then I started with a base.

Next I began to apply the clay to the skeleton and piece by piece, they began to take shape.

It was exciting to see them grow up from the base to the wings.

Adding Details:

After I got the form complete, I took to adding details to the faces and wings.

Final Result:

This is what I was able to make on my own from some images I printed out as guides and I'm pretty happy with the results. I believe this project to have taken around 12-15 hours. I would have liked to add a little more detail, but I had too much going on this semester to dedicate more time to this one project.

It has been a wonderful experience and I found that I really like sculpting forms.  I have a greater appreciation for the process now and look forward to making more of my own creations.