William Johnson's "Warrior Chieftain", 1755

[garyjd]

Work is now being done on the head/face. This is just the roghing in stage and the final face will probably look nothing like this by the time I am done.

I also decided to "mock-up" some of the adornments the bust will have. The piece of lead wire represents a porcupine quill that is passed through the bottom of the nose. Feathers and nose rings of various sorts were also used for decoration. I will probably use a fine piece of plastic rod and taper it to look like a quill. The brass wire represents the cartilage that warriors cut and then wrapped in brass wire after weighing it down to strech it out. When I do this part I will use a larger guage of brass wire and make these separate parts. Below is an account describing these methods of adornment.

"When a young man has been to war, he cuts the borders of his ears, and attaches a piece of lead so that the weight may elongate the cartilage, forming an opening large enough to put in a mitasse rolled up. They put brass wire around, and in the circumference they put in tufts of colored hair or feathers. These ears come down upon their shoulders, and float there as they walk. When they travel in the woods, they put a band around their foreheads to keep their ears from being torn in the thickets. they do not keep their ears until they become wise, because quarreling when drunk, they tear them, so that before getting far along in life they lose them entirely. They pierce the cartilage of the nose and put in a little ring with a triangle of silver, which falls down before the mouth."

Pierre Pouchot

 

[garyjd]

Another view.

 

[garyjd]

Rear view. The muscles of the back are almost complete.

 

[LCoote]

Gary, I like the way this one is turning out, I wonder if the neck is a bit too muscular, but I realise you've got a bit to do yet.

 

[garyjd]

Leigh, Yeah I thought about that too. Another thing is I'm not really excited over the shape of the face. Both areas could use some work. what I may do is when I bake the bust I'll probably leave it as is and sand it down to a more believable size. The build of his neck, chest and back were/are a concern.~Gary

 

[y_wong]

Dear Gary,

I am enjoying every minute of this thread. Will definitely be following to thread, there is much to learn from you.

A couple of months more and I should be posting pictures of my work again.

regards

 

[garyjd]

Wong, Thank you very much. I can't wait to see what you've been working on.~Gary

 

[garyjd]

The face is finally starting to take shape. I'm tweeking the anatomy a bit so the neck and shoulders do not look like a weight lifter's. A little work remains on the left eye and ears need to be done yet.

 

[garyjd]

close up

 

[garyjd]

3/4 view left side.

 

[garyjd]

Almost a profile view.

 

[Anders Heintz]

Looking great Gary!

 

[fsdesimone]

I like it a lot so far Gary. Hey, do you use different tools with the sculpey as opposed to when you work with putty?

Francesca

 

[LCoote]

Yeah Gary, excellent mate!

 

[garyjd]

Anders, Thanks buddy. I'm not only studyng several photos of Native Americans comparing and looking at the differences in facial structure but also those great Poste Militaire Indian busts, they're just fantastic. I'm going to develope this bust with production in mind, so the feathers, gorget, and neck knife will all be separate pieces.

Francesca, I really use the tools the same way for both mediums. The only difference may be my approach to how different parts are completed. With sculpey time is on your side, while with putty it's not. With putty I try to get the "main" features, folds what have you completed with secondary ones worked on after that time permitting. The one thing I really like about the Aves putty is the ability to easily sand, file or carve what time has not allowed me to sculpt. This is the reason why I rarely sculpt a head completely in putty. I believe the putty does not let you invest much time in developing the personality of the head I'm working on. I hope this answers your question.

Leigh, Thanks. I'm going to work on the neck a bit more after I bake the piece as it's a hard area to work on without the tool ruining something that does not need fixing. I actually took the trapezius muscle down more than the neck muscles. I appreciate your observations.~Gary

 

[Roy]

Hi Gary...those last 2 pics really show the the work you're doing on the features. He's looking beautiful so far. The excellent shape of the nose as seen in the 3/4 view seems to lend a lot to his character.

Could I be a pain and ask for a little advice related to super sculpey & sculpyIII.
After baking a piece of Super Sculpey...I get a fish-scale effect all over the surface, is there a way to avoid this? As I would love to do a bust or two in this medium as it allows so much freedom with re-working time...it's just that problem is putting me off using it.

Thank you.

Roy.

 

[garyjd]

Roy, I'd be more than happy to lend a hand. First off I use no solvents, thinners, lotions, vaseline etc on my sculpts to aid in the smoothing process before baking. I smooth what I can with my tools and after baking employ fine sandpaper and fine steel wool with a little elbow grease to smooth it out. Other than Sculpey that's shelf life has expired or maybe setting the temperature in the oven to high I'm not sure what's causing the problem. Bake the piece for 15 minutes at 250 degrees, shut the oven off and let it cool. If your having problems with the same batch of clay stick to using it for just basic armature and buy a new batch for all the surface detail that needs to be just right. Take a lump of Sculpey put it on a piece of tile or working base and bake it as is, see what happens following these instructions, let me know how you make out.~Gary

 

[Guy]

Thanks Gary.....that also answered the same question I had.

 

[Roy]

Gary, thank you so much for the suggestions. I will try a test piece and let you know what happens.

Thank s again.

Roy.

 

[garyjd]

Guy, Your welcome. These mediums have personalities of their own and each reacts differently when being worked.~Gary