Here is a photo journal of how the owl sculptures were created. Hear no evil has not been painted yet. Newspaper is crumpled and held together with masking tape. This is about 8 inches tall. Slabs of clay are rolled out about 1/2 inch thick and wrapped around the newspaper.Excess clay is trimmed off. The clay is very moist and is easily rubbed together to join it in a seamless shape. It looks like a large egg at this stage.A stick is used to beat it into shape.Large parts like the ears and wings are added on with more clay.The owl spends the night in a plastic bag so that the new parts can merge into the body.More parts are added and carving begins. The owl stays covered with a plastic bag to keep it moist and workable when it is not being worked on.As it begins to stiffen, it is time to cut it in half and trim out in excess clay on the inside walls. To put it back together, you score the edges with a fork or other sharp tool, paint a wet slip of clay around the edges (This acts like a glue.). Press it back together. Then seal the seam with a snake of clay that you blend into each side of the seam. More detail is added to the owl and it is fired in a bisque firing to about 1800 degrees for 15 hours. When it comes out it is not that attractive as it looks like the pink owl on the left. The fun part comes in painting the owl with ceramic underpaints. The owl is fired one more time at 1800 for about 12 hours to seal the paint into the sculpture. The owl on the right has gone through the final firing.
RavinStudio 