5. SIMPLE BIRD OR ANIMAL FORM-Coil Construction

Material — terra cotta sculpture or pottery clay, about the size of a melon

Tools       — use fingers mostly; 1 wire tool; 1 wood tool about 8" long with cutting end; plaster bat about 4" x 6"

Some simple sculpture forms are made in a way that is very similar to the making of a cylinder or vase. Choose a bird or animal like an owl or seal which can be made in a single unit.

Wedge the clay thoroughly (see Introduction, page 12). To model an owl: Make a coil about ½ in diameter and start the bottom of your sculpture by forming a ring about 3" in diam­eter and joining the ends (Figure 1). Work on a plaster bat (a base of  4" x 6" or larger) so that the piece can be handled easily while working. Add a second coil, but set it a little way from the center, and weld it into place. Continue add­ing others, making each ring a little larger and setting it slightly away from the center to ex­press the bulge of the bird form (Figure 2). Where the form begins to taper, make the rings smaller by setting them slightly toward the center. Be sure to weld coils together inside and out and take care that the joints of the coils do not come directly over each other. When you come to the top of the head, make smaller and smaller rings until you close the shape (Figure 3). It is advis­able to have a drawing of the owl before you in the full size of the finished piece. Draw at least two views—front and side. These will en­able you to determine when the coils should taper or bulge and to control the general form of the piece.

You now have a core for your owl form. Let it set awhile until it can be handled without losing its shape. Don't attempt to make the piece all at one time. Put a damp cloth over it and keep it in a cool place until you are ready to resume work (see Introduction, pages 12-13). Your piece is now ready for modeling by adding or cutting away the clay to define your form better (Figure 4). Use your fingers as much as possible for add­ing clay and shaping the form, but the wire tool can be used for cutting away clay and a wood tool for shaping. When adding clay, always score (scratch) the surface with a tool and paint with slip before you add the clay or the new clay will not hold. Beak, wings, ears, and (in the case of animals) tail can be added. After the piece is finished to your satisfaction, smooth or fill in cracks of unwelded coils (score and paint with slip first).

The piece is now ready to be fired. The natural terra cotta clay when fired will produce an inter­esting surface, but if you wish, you can paint the surface with a colored slip and scratch out cer­tain areas such as eyes, or make a surface tex­ture by scratching a feather motif. This slip should be applied with a brush (see Project XV) before the piece is fired. After the first fire a transparent glaze can be put on it and the piece fired again. This will produce a high gloss.

Figure 5-Pottery far, Peru. Photo from American Museum of Natural History, New York.

Figure 6 —Pig, glazed pottery, by Carl Walters.

Figure 1—Start with the base by welding several coils.

Figure 2—Continue body by adding larger rings and stepping them away from the center to produce shape.

Figure 3 —Reduce size of rings where body gets smaller and step them in. Close in top of head with coils.

Figure 4 (right, bottom) —Add clay for ears, beak, etc., and model the surface.

Figure 7—Frog, sculpture clay, by Paul Bogatay.

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