My first clay portrait
It took me almost one year to complete Willy's portrait.
I started during an 8-weeks workshop in Detroit, but quite predictably I was not able to finish the project in time. I mostly progressed by trial and error, with little instruction. Most participants had significantly more experience, and I was already behind when we started building the armature.
This is Willy:
And this is how I started:
One of the instructors helped me shape the eyes, but he was working so fast that I didn't really understand what he was doing and why.
Around week 4, I was optimistic.
During each session, we were supposed to "follow" the model as he was turned around on the platform, working on the angle that was presented to us at the moment. Each period lasted 15-20 minutes, which was definitely not enough considering my total ignorance of technique.
By week 8 I had deviated pretty significantly from the model, and I was seriously tempted to toss everything in the trash.
But instead, I decided to take it home when the workshop wrapped up. I wondered what the police would have thought if they saw what looked like a human head wrapped up in plastic on my passenger seat.
At home, I was able to pull out all my books (unused since I bought them) and move at my own pace. I managed to give the nose a better shape, but I realized that the proportions were off, and that Willy's nose was shorter and sat higher on his face.
And so, I decided to try chopping off a section of the nose, as one of my books recommended. It was scary to do, and I was afraid to lose the progress made.
Hollowing it was more difficult than I thought... The pipe had pierced the clay at the top of the head, and wouldn't simply slide out.
I had to cut the head, and figure out a way to rejoin the two sides. I'm sure there are better ways.
There were times when I felt I should just give up
But when I got to this point I saw the light again.
