Sculpture: Bas Relief Animals & Landscapes
Modern Ancient Art
I’ve been exploring and expanding my interest in sculpture by creating small bas relief pieces capturing animals that delight my heart and with which I feel a connection.
Bas relief sculpture varies in depth and detail, being raised from a flat background and having a flat back. We see them in archeological history on the friezes of ancient Greece and Rome and many other cultures we have discovered buried in the earth as though hidden in a treasure vault.
As I have been exploring sculpting in fine silver metal clay for jewelry I have also been pushing toward creating somewhat larger pieces. I love the process of sculpting the original and also casting from that original to create reproductions that are actually customizable. Each piece can be an individual, unique expression of the original sculpted piece.
Of course my initial subjects are animals. I’m always fascinated by them, in their movement, personality and details. I also have some landscapes and water scapes in my heart. I’ve just always had a love for the wild bits of nature that I’ve been honoured to see and experience.
To begin with I'll be working with media that is easily accessible me. Mud, as in ceramic clay, is readily available and a very reasonable cost. As I don’t have a kiln and have no plan to acquire one soon then I’ll be using ceramic clay to create the original/prototype and make molds of my originals. I can use the molds to cast a variety of media.
There is a possibility I will invest in a microwave kiln and dedicated microwave for my studio. Apparently this kit can offer the ability to fire small, single pieces of ceramics (and glass and possibly even metal) in a short period of time. It sounds very affordable and most of all fun. Fun seems to be a very important watchword for my studio life. I’d love to explore raku and also some delicate watercolor effect type glazes. See? Fun. Exploration and Adventure.
I love that some of my sculptures are both wearable as art jewelry and beautiful on display in frames or as part of a tableau.
Fragments are sometimes more interesting than a whole.
They inspire questions and wonder. Fragments offer space for imagination. I find them invigorating to my creativity in the connections drawn to archeology and unearthed treasures.
If you’re curious about how the small bas relief sculpture series grows then please be sure to join my Studio Friends via email below. My Studio Friends get priority access to new releases and fun stuff.
And if you know of a fellow animal lover please Share my art and offerings. I’d love to delight more animal lovers in the wide world.
See you soon for some sneak peeks into my Studio sculpture work!
~ Renée