I absolutely love making sculptures. Nothing feels as good and seeing your vision come to life. However, the whole process can be extremely stressful and frustrating. I got into sculpture my freshman year of college, before that, I had done three years of ceramics in high school. I loved it so much, i decided to make it my minor and i started pushing myself to things i never thought i had the ability to do. I have always been a pretty artistic person, from doing fashion illustrations as a child to making large, intricate ceramic pots in high school. Sculpture was a whole other ballgame though.
When I first started, it seemed so easy. I was only taking a 3D art class so we were literally just making cardboard letters and camouflaging them, making inflatable objects, or carving out foam objects. I decided to take an introductory to sculpture class and I got hit with a nice dose of reality. My very first project was a metal project that required a lot of welding. I had never dealt with metal before and I'm not strong at all so it was a huge struggle figuring out how to pull off my project. I somehow finished it though but it looked so bad, I got discouraged and started to think maybe sculpture isn't for me. The finished product can be seen below:
I didn't give up though, I really loved sculpture and I wanted to be good at it. With each project, I was slowly improving and figuring out what kind of sculptures i like making. I wanted to take on the challenge of making an actual human being. It seemed like such a daunting task but my professor believed in me and encouraged me to take that leap. It took a long time to complete it and it was a very difficult process because I was working with a material that dried really quickly. The end result was pretty good though, I really liked how it came out and I was so proud of what I had accomplished. It can be seen below:
I decided to try making another portrait, but this time, attempt a male portrait instead of a female. That proved to be more difficult because I'm so used to the way women's faces are, I had to be really careful not to feminize his face. The end result can be seen below:
The progress I've made in sculpture for the past 2 years has been due to a lot of hard work and dedication. I was able to tap into a talent i never even knew i had. I was able to push myself out of my comfort zone and I'm so grateful for it. I submitted the 2 sculptures above for the student art gallery and I was able to get 2nd place in the entire show. That just convinced me that I can push myself even more and become better. Even though I'm done with my sculpture minor, I plan on doing an independent study to improve on my human portrait skills. I wouldn't have even considered trying sculpture if it wasn't for my amazing professor, Jim Benedict. He encouraged me every step of the way and I owe him a debt of gratitude. Thank you Jim, for inspiring me and making me become a better artist and person.
