Clay Sculpture

Very soft clay was used (almost the same
texture as mousse) to retain the lightness of the
eyebrows and haggard texture of the skin. The
Prof's head is the same size as the average
man's. Laying next to his head in the above
picture is a 30cm ruler.

A polystyrene ball was inside the head to reduce
weight, and to help remove the clay from the
plaster mould.

The plaster was applied to the clay sculpture with
the glass eyes inside the clay. They were removed
with the clay after the plaster had dried.

The Prof's head can be seen on the
workbench in our cellar studio in Paris.
We've been working here because
we're too poor to rent a space, but the
constant cool dry temperature seems
perfect for plaster and clay.

In these conditions, the plaster mould
(using 6 kilos of dry plaster) took 15
minutes to dry. In this photo the mould
has been cleaned of clay (clay is in the
bag on the right) sealed with clay, and
the latex has been poured (5 litres of
latex needed to fill the head, not
including the neck!).

Clay Sculpture

PROF. CLOCHARD