SCULPTURE - "Boarbarian" pt.1

Time for a new sculpture! Once again, I'll be showing this in process. I'm creating a "bust" piece, instead of a full figure. I don't have any sketches to work from, so I'll be figuring it out as I go. I've gathered a lot of great research, though, so I won't be flyin' blind. I'm not going to reveal the main character just yet, so you'll have to stay tuned. But you can tell from the title where I'm heading.

Let's begin with the base. I cut a square from a 2"x4", cut off the corners, then belt-sanded it into a circle. I put the nuts and bolt in the middle to add some weight.

I've got a fondness for Celtic Knot designs, so I decided to incorporate a basic Celtic pattern around the base. (Must be from the Scots-Irish heritage in the family tree.) This part was very tricky...no matter how I measured, and redrew the knots multiple times, it never quite matched up. I was able to rework the final design to hide it pretty well. I traced a short segment of the knots, cut it out of Sculpy, then placed that segment on the wood base. I cleaned up the pattern, and baked it.

I used epoxy putty to create a "mother mold" that would become the inverted shapes of the knots. I carefully cleaned out the baked Sculpy, and now had a "stamp" of the pattern. I probably should have used a "plasticine" type clay, that would stay firm, but pliable. It would've been easier to clean out of the mold than the baked Sculpy. Live and learn. When I did a test run of stamping the pattern around the base, it didn't match up. So I cut out a shorter segment from the stamp and added a wooden handle, which seemed to work.

I drilled some holes to help the Sculpy stay on better. I pressed the stamp around the base, and after a little cleanup, had a nice Celtic knot pattern.

Here's the final base, with a few more details added. I had an unexpected problem, however, with the wood expanding and contracting. It made a couple of bad cracks in the pattern.

So I had a decision to make...try to repair the cracks, or work with them. I decided that the theme of this piece lent itself to a "battle damaged" look. So I purposely "distressed" the whole base with more cracks and scrapes. I plan on painting it to look like stone, so it will feel like it's really old and weathered. I actually like it better than the cleaner look.