Visual Arts Teacher Simone
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Architecture and Sculpture are the two mediums used by artists to express themselves through volume.
There are 2 types of sculpture:
Free-standing sculpture: is a sculpture that can be observed from all sides.
Relief sculpture: is a sculpture that rests on a support, so that it has no back side.
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STONES, like marble, is considered one of the premier sculpting materials.
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WOOD is another material that a sculptor can carve. It is softer than stone, but it is less durable.
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IRON is a metal that offers great possibilities to sculptors, because it can be cut, bent, welded, etc.
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BRONZE is a very maleable material that can be given form through various processes. The most common process is through using molds, which are filled with the molten (melted) bronze.
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CLAY is a very moldable material. The clay is first molded when wet, and then it is baked in a special oven, called a kiln.
The typical techniques for creating sculptures are:
Carving Modelling Casting Constructing Assembling
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Carving consists in slowly removing small pieces of the material with a sharp tool called a chisel.
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Modelling is a using hands and other tools to give form to a moldable material, like clay or plasticine.
Casting is a process which is used to make many copies of the same figure. First, it consists of making a figure through modelling. Then, a mold is made of the figure. The mold is then filled with a liquid like bronze or plaster to make a final figure.
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Constructing is a technique of building with sculptural materials, like metal, wood, wire, etc.
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Assembling is a technique similar to making a 3-dimensional collage. It consists in combining pre-existing elements in order to create a new figure.