The Sculptor's Stand

[ArtsyLynda]

"Sculpting the Figure in Clay" by Peter Rubino. Apparently he has a bunch of books out. I got it at Barnes & Noble and an extra receipt printed out that says "You may also like . . ." and lists five different books, one of which is "Portraits in Clay" by Rubino. They rarely have sculpture "how to" books at B&N - we were there killing time before going to see "The Woman in Black" (which is wonderful!! A real Hitchcock type suspense movie with little to no gore! Remarkable for a horror film) and I saw a book on Bernini and had about talked myself into coughing up the $35 required to have it for inspiration (it has FABULOUS detail photos of his sculptures - I could make an entire study on various ways to do hair from that book!) and then I saw this book. Nearly the same price, and this book is only about 1/3 the size of the Bernini book but . . . any book I can learn at least one thing from is a good buy and I learned several things from this one while browsing through it. So there ya go!

FYI - the other books listed on that receipt are "Modeling the Figure in Clay: A . . ." by Margit Malmstrom; "Modelling and Sculpture: A Guide to . . ." by Albert Toft; "The Figure in Clay: Contemporary . . ." by Lark Books: and "Pop Sculpture: How to Create Action . . ." by Tim Bruckner. That last one interests me - guess I'll go on Amazon or BN.com and see if I can "look inside" to see what he's teaching.

[sculpturedolls]

Thanks Lynda for all the titles. A couple of those I have but some I don't! Glad you got a Bernini book. I'm not sure if I have one of those either. Wonder if our Barnes and Noble has anything interesting. But it's dangerous to go and peruse as the book draw you in and are a whopping amount for each one!

[ArtsyLynda]

Alas, I didn't buy the Bernini book - I got the other one instead. They were about the same price, and since it's a business expense, I was watching my pennies!

[ArtsyLynda]

Oh, I went to Amazon and looked up the Pop Sculpture book - not something I need! It's about making action figures of cartoon characters - Superman, Batman, etc.

[sculpturedolls]

Linda,

Hope you're enjoying your new books.

I just got in my new alcohol torch and will use it tomorrow and see how it works. Looking forward to that.

Bought some equivalent to the Fast Orange and got the smooth version rather than with the pumice (grit). Do you think it's better to have the gritty to sort of scrub and melt the wax?

[ArtsyLynda]

No, the smooth version is the right stuff. Enjoy your alcohol torch!!

Do you know about wax pen tools? That's another jeweler's tool that does wonders with wax. It's a small electric box with a "pen" attached that comes with a variety of tips. You can control the heat with the thermostat. It's a very handy tool (and I'm terrible at working with wax, so if I think it's good, it's AMAZING for someone whose actually good at working with wax like you are!) Go to riogrande.com - they have all kinds of wonderful toys! Oh, here's the wax pen tool - and it's on sale! http://www.riogrande.com/Product/Gil.../700391?pos=20

[sculpturedolls]

I'm sort of a chicken with explosives. First time I light the alcohol torch, think I'll be outside with goggles on. It talks about using the right kind of denatured alcohol so I have to check that I have that. Then make sure there's no spilled alcohol on the edges and all.

My guess is that even if the flame would reach the full bottle of denatured alcohol, that maybe it would just burn rather than make an explosion? I think maybe regular alcohol would be explosive and so that's why they have us use the denatured. I don't know, I just get scared at the beginning of using new things sometimes.

Other than that I'm sure I'll love it!

Been thinking of the wax pen tool thing, Ron even was suggesting I do it, but I just am trying to turn a profit on my sculpting sometime soon, ha, ha, and pulling back on the spending. But I do appreciate hearing the exact one that you have and like. Maybe I'll do that too soon.

Thanks again,

~SD

[ArtsyLynda]

In case you haven't discovered this already, the flame is tiny, and when you squeeze the bottle, it becomes a pinpoint out to the side (so you can do delicate work on wax). There should be no danger of fire. I bought a can marked "Denatured alcohol" and figured that was good enough. It's been "good enough" for way over 10 years (still using that first container, IIRC - MAYBE I'm on my second. I don't do a lot of wax work). As much as you work in wax, I think you'll find the wax pen a good investment. You can sculpt with it. It does a really nice job. Of course, you can sculpt with a tool that's been heated over an alcohol lamp (you have one of those, don't you? That just makes a steady flame, no "torch" involved - it's a glass bottle with a wick and uses denatured alcohol - you just hold a tool in it for however long to heat it up). The thing with the electric one is that the heat is constant, unlike using a tool heated with the alcohol lamp. And they have you use denatured alcohol because it burns clean, unlike other fuels, and doesn't leave soot or anything on your tools. If you're worried about your full container of denatured alcohol exploding or catching fire, just put it on a shelf away from your work bench - no worries.

[sculpturedolls]

Had to chuckle when I read your comments about your wondering if I was worried about the whole container exploding. Well, I didn't so much worry about that but was worried the bottle might do so. Just unfounded worries but all is well. I went outside and had my protective eyewear on and had my dear husband light the match and light the torch. Hee, hee. Husbands are great for things like this. Makes them feel manly.

Wind was blowing so when we squeezed the bottle, nothing happened. Puzzled. Then brought it inside and were pleasantly surprised of how the puff of air blows the flame to the side. Way neat.

The denatured alcohol was supposed to not have more than 4% Methanol and some other details, so I went to the store and got a different kind (one that said the exact wording of containing less than 4%....) then I had at home, just to be sure. The one I had at home said it contained Methanol but didn't say how much. So I was feeling pretty secure when we lit the match.

I don't have an alcohol lamp but I could use the torch the same way (putting tool over the flame) don't ya think? Then I don't have to keep two torches going. More chance of knocking over the taller alcohol torch though. Well, I'll see how it goes. I had been heating my tools on a soldering iron but after awhile the soot was getting to my lungs and making me cough. At the Berkeley foundry they have propane lamps that they use to heat their tools. I've never seen them using wax pens, not sure why, probably because they don't want to do that much detail.

I'm working outside in the garage now. I taped down some painter's plastic on the floor. Could use roofing paper like I mentioned on my blog or what you were talking about as well for the floor.

Didn't get to even play (work) on my wax though today. Had other necessary business but hope to work with it tomorrow.

[ArtsyLynda]

Hubbies are useful for so many things!! Glad you like how the torch works. Yeah, you can use that flame to warm your tools, no problem. It isn't as big a flame as an alcohol lamp makes, and an alcohol lamp is steadier on the table than the torch is because it's made of heavy glass and is short and squat rather than tall like the torch.

I've seen wax pens in foundries that make things of their own as well as casting other folks' stuff. The first foundry I used (in Indianapolis, now closed due to the owner's retirement) made funeral urns and decorative plaques. They used the pen on the details.

Sounds like you're all set to have good sculpting session!

[sculpturedolls]

Tried out the alcohol lamp on Friday's work day and like it for the usefulness of blowing a small flame onto the wax but as an implement to heat metal tools, I didn't like it. For the reason you mentioned, not so sturdy, and because residual wax on my tool ended up causing black soot to develop on the metal air tube and clogged it. I had to take a needle and open it up so it would work again. I didn't drip onto the metal (I don't think), just the flame got wax in it and deposited them onto the metal.

So I went ahead and stopped that wax session and researched getting a wax pen. Spent several hours determining the best one for the purposes of doing fine detail. I remember on the Clubhouse forum (action and creature figure forum) they used to talk a lot about wax pens, the Kerr wax pen and also Foredom's wax pen. Went and read a lot of threads and then bought this one below! :

http://www.riogrande.com/Product/Ker...2/700574?pos=6

It was on sale the last day for $299 (But Pearson's say it's on sale through April for the same price). It comes with 2 scoop-like tips and 2 narrow needle type tips. Then, Kerr is having a promotion through the end of March where if I send in the receipt I get two more tips (usually are like $60 ea.).

Also, got this alcohol lamp, nice and sturdy. The lady said the angled sides that it has allow for the lamp to rest on it's side, lower, more ergonomically correct, so that when you are working all day, your arm doesn't have to reach up as high. I like that!

http://www.riogrande.com/Product/Alc...p/700008?pos=1

So because I have all this stuff coming, I figured no sense working on my wax the hard way. Might as well wait for the new tools to come. That freed me up to play in the clay, finally! I have a 29" long sculpt of a lady laying on her stomach and then up on her elbows with a book in her hand. It needs to shrink some or it won't fit in my kiln (only 29" wide from corners to corners). I'll share pics after I finish her today (after church).

I have a little show here in my home town coming up in June and needed some new stuff and all I have time for are rough sketch quickies (which are the most fun!).

[ArtsyLynda]

I've seen alcohol lamps like yours - I already had a round one or I would've gotten one of those (and I don't work in wax that much). Your wax pen sounds great! I just wanted an "entry level" one since I don't use wax that often. The new sculpt sounds cool too - looking forward to your pics!

[sculpturedolls]

Almost got the waxer you have as I read one guy say to forget the other waxers, he loved the one you have. It is essential for doing the basics of moving the wax. The main reason I got the Kerr was because of the detailed tips that can be purchased for it. Since my lady on the chaise is so detailed, I thought I should get one that has a sharp needle.

Living in the moment, (hey I might name her that), is getting to sculpt for fun and let it be impressionistic and unrefined. I've had so much fun with this weekend sketch. She's almost finished. Here's a blog post with pics

[sculpturedolls]

Love the new waxer! Boy am I glad you brought the subject up Lynda. I should have done this a long time ago. And this is going to make me be able to do the waxes inside my studio instead of out in the garage (I think) because the fumes won't be so much. Well, I'll give more feedback after I have a full session with it.

My new sculpt that was a quickie is now going to be going into bronze as it's desirable to my gallery (wow, so glad I showed her just to be sure). I'll be doing work in progress pics with commentary on the gallery's website for her too. For now, some pics are on my blog and newer ones on facebook link below.

[ArtsyLynda]

I'm so glad you're enjoying the waxer! I thought it would be useful to you! No time to look at pics right now, but I'll do that ASAP (maybe tomorrow). Looking forward to seeing what you're up to now! And COOL that the gallery likes your new one!