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Chapter 14 |
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Reading: Reread the sections called Shape and Mass, and Three-dimensional Space in Chapter 6.
Premise: The most basic, and certainly the oldest, of any of the sculptural techniques is carving. Almost all of us have tried carving at one point or another, whether it was soap carving, plaster block carving, or turkey carving (turkey carving, though not technically a "fine art," does fall under the category of "foul art," and is a valid subtractive experience).
The question for many people who try carving for the first time is often "What do I carve?" Indeed, not having an idea is more challenging than having an idea. The ergonomic egg project provides answers to such questions for the first time carver, and you'll be amazed at the result! Thanks to Professor Tom Morandi with the Dept. of Art at Oregon State University for this project.
Time to do this project: Allow six hours over several days. It's conceivable to do it in one day, but the plaster form won't sand well due to moisture content.
*Materials: plaster of Paris; cool water; a mixing cup for the plaster; a "casting mould" which could be a paper 22 oz. drink cup, or a one pint, or a one quart milk carton; a stir stick; an expendable metal table knife and spoon (if you want to spring for real tools, get Stanley® Surforms®—one flat and one tubular); a sheet of 150 grit wet-or-dry sandpaper; and a sheet of 80 grit abrasive cloth used for drywall sanding. The plaster can usually be purchased at paint, hardware, or even drugstores is small amounts. I bought a 16oz. carton marketed by Synko® for 97 cents at my neighborhood paint store.
How to start: Mixing plaster can be a nightmare, but there's a fairly easy way. Make sure you have a mold cup that's at least twice the volume of your dry amount of plaster. Empty the dry plaster out of its original container into the mold cup (if you're using 16oz. of plaster, use it all) and mark its level on the cup with a pencil or felt pen. Pour the plaster back into its original container until you're ready to mix it.
Split the distance between the plaster mark on the cup and the bottom of the cup in half, and make another line. Fill the cup with cool water to this middle line, then add about 1/2" more. Carefully sift the plaster into the water. It will form an island in the center, which will gradually decrease in size.
After the plaster has all been added to the water, take the stir stick and slowly and evenly mix the plaster. If possible, press out any lumps that develop. After two or three minutes of stirring, tap the bottom of the cup several times on a table surface, and gently tap the sides of the cup. This will bring up most of the air bubbles in the mix. Leave the mixture for about 30 minutes. It will solidify, and be ready to have the cup or carton peeled away. You'll notice that the plaster form is hot!
Plaster at its hottest point in the set process is also at its strongest point, so wait another 30 minutes before you begin carving. Once it's cooled down, you're ready to carve. If you used a soft drink cup, half the work is done for you, because it's already cylindrical! Using the table knife or the flat Surform®, carve away the edges of the rim, and continue to work toward an elliptical shape. An egg is of course, not a perfect oval or elliptical shape, and your project will actually look great if it's not perfectly elliptical. After an hour of diligent carving, you should be close to an egg form. Smooth the surface with the drywall cloth. Let the egg dry out for a while now—one or two days in a sunny window should do it, although some students have hurried things up with a 200 degree oven over about four hours. I don't recommend this, but it can be done. After the surface feels dry, sand it with the sand paper.
*The ergonomic part: Grasp the egg in one hand. Look at the manner in which your fingers wrap around it. Notice the lines and the repetition of the lines. Try it several ways, holding it from either end, then trying it in the middle. Which feels and looks the most interesting? Using a #2 pencil, trace around your thumb and fingers onto the egg. Trace under the palm as well, which will effectively connect the thumb and the little finger together. You should now have a tracing of your hand wrapped around the egg.
Ergonomic design is intended to reduce fatigue and/or injury caused when we sit, hold, operate, or otherwise physically interact with an object or tool for an extensive amount of time. Holding the uncarved egg was not comfortable, but carving into the finger shapes on the surface will make doing so, um, more comfortable, or at least, make you aware of your grip! Start with the finger tip ends, and using the blunt end of the table knife, gradually carve channels into the finger shapes to the depth of about one finger (app. 1/2 or 5/8 of an inch). If you use the tubular Surform, this will go very quickly. As you carve the shapes out, occasionally regrip the egg at the channels. How does it feel? The more you carve, the more the egg should become comfortable. However, something much more important happens as well—it becomes visually interesting. Why?
Chapter 9, The Principles of Design might lend some clues. First of all, the egg in a fully unified shape, due mostly to its simplicity. The the channels that are added use your hand as the "template," and your hand represents another unified system. Its application to the egg was researched (your trying several grips) until you found one which supported the egg and looked visually interesting. Both your hand and the egg are organic systems, and in the application of one two the other, the systems actually merged, or one accommodated the other.
To finish the egg, use the 150 grit sandpaper and sand the interior surfaces of the channels to remove the tool marks, then sand the exterior surface. Two mount or display the egg, use a small twist bit and an electric drill to drill into the egg. The base can be a simple block of wood—drill up through it with the same size bit, and run a nail up through it. Slip the egg over the nail, and viola! Below is the author's ergonomic egg.
*About materials: All of these materials are available at craft stores, department stores such as Target or Wal-Mart, and sometimes the supply areas of college bookstores. You can also order the materials through Dick Blick, Inc.
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