Return of the "Critter" & Sculpture Designing
As I worked on finishing the porcelain modeling of four female figures inspired by the Voynich Manuscript’s “nymphs” I continued to think about how all of these parts would be incorporated into a sculpture design. Since this is the first time I have sculpted these kind of figures, I wanted to see all of them together before deciding how to proceed, and I changed my mind somewhat about my original plan.
I originally envisioned all four figures attached to a flat panel of porcelain to support them from the back, which would mean that they all get fired together as one piece. The problem with this is that if one of the figures would happen to crack during the kiln firing, it would detract from and possibly damage the entire piece. Why might they crack? Even with a careful sculpting technique, there is a possibility of cracking as the porcelain dries: this is why it has to dry very slowly and gradually, and at this stage it becomes extremely brittle and fragile. There is also the possibility of cracking during either of the two kiln firings that the sculptures will undergo after drying. This can happen if there are any small air bubbles trapped inside the clay, which will expand because of the extreme heat. When sculpting, I use various techniques to avoid creating air bubbles, but without x-ray vision into the clay, there is no way to guarantee that the piece is free of trouble, especially with these complex forms. The final kiln firing (to approximately 2232 degrees F/1222 degrees C) is the ultimate test of the sculpture’s integrity. Did I mention porcelain is an unforgiving medium?
To mitigate these issues I decided to attach each figure to its own individual flat porcelain slab, shaped in such a way that the four of them will fit together in an arc. This way, if there are any problems with one figure, it will not affect the others. There will also be a fifth flat porcelain shape that holds a lighted plasma glass star, and all five of these sections will surround a circular shape in the center that holds the “critter.” My original plan also involved making this a free-standing sculpture, but since all of these sections will have a flat back, I instead plan to permanently attach them to a panel that can be displayed vertically.
Each section will dry on a piece of kiln shelf, the same kiln shelf it will be fired on. When the clay is dry enough to fire, it will be too fragile to pick up, so this way it does not have to be touched or lifted—I’ll just move the entire shelf into the kiln. Once it is fired, however, it becomes very strong, and turns the bright white color that most people associate with porcelain. (Some kinds of porcelain even become semi-translucent, but that kind requires even higher kiln temperatures, and is not the kind I am using for this project.) Also, the porcelain will shrink considerably during firing from the loss of moisture and other chemical changes.
It will be a couple weeks until you see these pieces again. (Yes, that’s how long it takes for the porcelain to dry—watching paint dry is downright exciting in comparison. ) Fingers crossed for no cracking!
