Italy Secondaria di secondo grado – classe 1ª Sculpture disciplines

1. Modelling and sculpture

Relief and in-the-round · Form and space · Casting and conservation

• Sculpture Techniques – Sculpture is art in three dimensions. It can be relief (attached to a background: low or high) or in the round (free-standing, seen from all sides). There are four main ways to make it: subtractive carving (remove material from stone or wood), additive modelling (build up clay or wax, often over an armature), casting (pour a liquid such as molten bronze into a mould) and construction or assemblage (join parts). Sculptors plan with drawings and a maquette, choose a degree of realism from realistic to abstract, and use pose, direction and real motion to show movement.
• Composition in Art: How Artists Arrange a Picture – Composition is the way an artist arranges shapes, lines, colours and spaces inside a frame (or in 3D space for a sculpture). A good composition has a clear focal point, balance, contrast between figure and ground, and lines that guide the eye. Simple tools like the rule of thirds help you plan it.
• Casting in Sculpture: Making Copies with a Mould – Casting means making a copy of a model by pouring a liquid (plaster, clay slip, wax, metal) into a mould and letting it set. The mould holds the reverse shape of the model. Waste moulds are broken after one use; piece moulds and rubber moulds can be used again. Terracotta pieces are made hollow with thin walls so they dry evenly and do not crack in the kiln.