8. FIGURE GROUPS-Coil Construction

Material — terra cotta or gray sculpture clay, about the size of a loaf of bread

Tools       — fingers; wood tools; plaster bat about 8" x 8"

A group of figures presents a more difficult prob­lem of composition and a more complex prob­lem of construction than a single figure. You should do the single figure project (at least read the directions) before attempting this one. It is advisable to have your composition well in mind before starting to model it. A rough sketch of the group will be a great advantage. Two or three figures in some common activity will serve as an ideal composition. For example, a dance group, a mother leading a child, two men box­ing, three figures seated around a campfire, washerwomen, one figure seated reading a book to a second figure lying down on his arms listen­ing.

Wedge the clay thoroughly (see Introduction, page 12). Start with a base large enough to ac­commodate the group by patting a piece of clay to ¾" thickness. Make a ¾" coil and cut a piece for the legs of the first figure. Make a V shape and place it in position on the base, welding the parts that touch the base. If the figure is stand­ing, weld the ends of the inverted V and let the rest stand erect. Wait until it is firm enough to support more clay and add ¼" coils for the torso by placing them first in rings or ovals on top of each other. Weld them together and place a second set of ¼" coils vertically and weld these together. Be sure to score and paint joints with slip before adding more clay if the clay seems too hard or if you have allowed the piece to stand for a time. When the torso is firm, add arms and head with ½" coils. Leave this figure in a sketchy state and build your second figure.

If we assume that the second figure is seated on a box, make a lump of clay for the box and weld it into place. Now make a V for the legs, bend to right action, weld the feet to the base and the point of the V—the seat of the figure-to the box. When it is firm, add the torso, then the arms and head. If there is a third figure, con­struct it in the same way.

Now proceed to model all the figures as a unit, adding or cutting away clay (Figure 1), always scoring and painting with slip when new clay is added to old clay. Don't worry about details-let a plane without features serve as a face if you have difficulty modeling details. Each figure can be about 6'' to 8" high, and the whole com­position should not measure over 8" square.

Figure 3—Two figure groups by 13-16-year-old students.

When making a figure with a skirt, the figure can first be modeled with coils as described above and the skirt built around it with coils, or if the skirt reaches to the ground, a bell shape can be made with coils and the rest of the figure added to it. When the group composition is finished, it can be fired and left in the natural clay. If desired, the group can be painted with clay slips of various colors before it is fired. The piece does not need a glaze as the gloss may ruin its simplicity and texture.

Figure 1—First construct the figures with coils, then when they are firm, add or cut away clay to suggest the desired form.         Figure 2—Finished piece in sculpture clay by 14-year-old girl.

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