Art and Design A comprehensive guide for creative artists - Aaltodoc

Distinct examples include “dry leaves, tree barks, grass and
seed pods.” In a remarkable manner, nearly all materials
of sculpture listed can be easily collected from “shrubs,
compounds and garbage collection centres” free of charge.
“Any material that can be shaped in three dimensions
can be used sculpturally. Certain materials, by virtue
of their structural and aesthetic properties and their
availability, have proved especially suitable. The most
important of these are stone, wood, metal, clay, ivory
and plaster.” (Encyclopaedia Britannica 2003, 46)
So let us make a brief analysis of some few basic materials
required for producing a sculpture artwork:
a. Stone, wood and clay are natural materials used
to execute sculpture artworks. They can be found in
most parts of the world. Stone, wood and clay can be
combined or used separately in various creative ways.
To produce a sculpture out of them, the artist can do
carving and/or moulding. Ultimately, stone, wood
and clay are extracted from their places of origin. For
instance clay is obtained from swamps; stone is mined
from quarries or everywhere in different sizes and
colours. On the contrary, wood comes from forests.
b. Plastics are everywhere around us. Rich (1998, 353)
explains, “A plastic is a substance that can be softened,
cast moulded, or pressed into a desired shape or form.”
Plastic is cheap and easy to acquire. To shape a plastic
into a sculpture artwork, the artist has got to heat a
plastic with fire, or burn it into a solid substance with
a source of heat or fire. That is to say, choose the right
types of plastics to avoid spoiling an obtained sculpture
melt. Therefore, make categorises for the different kinds
of plastics during planning and preparation.
c. Iron (metal) is an ordinary material used in sculpture
for constructions. It might not be common for many
sculpture artists mainly because metal is expensive.
In Mujjuzi's (2009, 26) Methodology, “ring wires,
binding wires and wire mesh” were used for the time
of explaining procedures and methods of making
a sculpture. In spite of that, Iron or metal used in
sculpture—at times; can be obtained from thrown
away (found) metal objects.
Modeling stand
Roughing gouge
Small roughing gouge
Bent-shank gouge
Socket coner chisel
Conering chisel
Straight carving gouge
(large)
A few examples of equipment and tools used for creating sculpture artworks
d. Wax is another material used in sculpture. It can make
maquettes and it can be used to polish and preserve
surfaces of finished sculpture artwork. The types of
waxes used by sculptors include (candle) paraffin wax
and bee wax.
Waxes are used by nearly all sculptors for some of these
few justifications:
• It is easy to mould at normal temperatures.
• Its tactile quality can be transformed by adding
other substances such as oils or fats.
• It is easy to cut or carve into very many shapes.
• It can also be quickly recycled.
• Colouring dyes can mix well with wax.
e. Cement is a grey or greenish powdery substance
commonly used for construction. It is also a good
material for building sculpture artworks—done by
mixing it with sand and water to make mortar or
concrete. Sculptors prefer using cement for its speed
of setting and hardening. A sculpture made out of
cement is generally resistant to atmospheric corrosions
especially when proper mixtures are done. Cement is
cheap and easy to handle.
f. Plaster of Paris is a white powdered substance which
will become hard when water is added and then mixed
together with it—in proportionate quantities.
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