Tuesday, December 15, 2009

Essentials to Me

Have spent the last couple of days crunching to get some orders done by today. I was going to post pics tonight, however had planned to do the following post before this, and as this will be brief and it is getting late will do this one now.



I wanted to show the basic tools I use. I have a huge assortment of "proper" supplies/tools, however seem to stick with only several that I use consistently.







* wax paper....great at covering my scarred and battered table top


* aluminum foil....head armatures, also used for body parts


* small hammer....a must for pounding the foil to make tight, compact shapes


*wire.....for armatures - also, floral tape for covering wire



*Baby wipes, clay, stylus, knitting needle, scalpel, and my all-time favorite sculpting tool.....a vintage nail/cuticle pusher.


When I started sculpting I did not have any tools and found that this particular item worked great for me. Several years ago, I thought I had lost it, went and purchased four newer ones and I just could not use them. They didn't have the same heft or feel and I could not get used to them. Fortunately, I found my 'favorite tool'! I honestly am lost without this little metal item.



If you are reading this and new to sculpting, don't wait until you have the 'proper' tools. Try items you may have around the house. The above are what works for me, however many artists use other common household items (toothpicks, crochet hooks, etc). You never know what may work, unless you experiment.



Will post some WIP and pics of what I just finished, tomorrow.

9 comments:

Unknown said...

Sue,
Is Prosculpt what you use for the majority of your works? Is it air dry?
Hugs,
Jackie

BumbleVee said...

yeh... who needs specific tools for most things... lots of new gimmicks all the time aren't there? ......


we find what feels comfortable in our hands and/or sometimes it is the first thing we try and it always feels like that is the one..the only...

Dianie said...

Hi Sue,
This is very cool! I love to see how other artists create. I am self taught and did you know, I have never covered my wire with floral tape. This is a great tip that I will try immediately. I fight with the bare wire to get my first application of clay onto it. This should solve that problem :) I have a few favorite tools that I found lurking in my kitchen junk drawers, a few years back. Love them. I like your cuticle tool, makes me want to go get one:)

Happy creating,
~Diane

FairiesNest said...

It's so much fun to see the tools and "bones" behind an artist's work. I find crochet hooks to be wonderful tools with many uses beyond crochet!

Tristan Robin said...

heheh - I know exactly what you mean. I can't make a vise work - I still need to stack books on something LOL.

Robin's Egg Bleu said...

I think that Pro-sculpt is a polymer clay like Sculpey that must be baked.

I remember scouting around the house looking for modeling tools after the wooden craft tools I found at Michael's were too cumbersome and clunky. Not very strong, either.

My favorite? Dental tools!

Kaerie Faerie said...

Thank you for sharing, I'm new to sculpting with clay, love that LaDoll paper clay, and I have found just stuff around the studio to use too!
I've never used foil or wire, that is only for baked clay?

Jdee said...

Always so cool to see what other artist use! I can totally relate to the 'favorite' tool.. A year later and I still have not recovered from breaking mine.. :(
xoxo

julie campbell said...

Great to see this Sue,
I use prosculpt too, and when I get hold of cernit will mix it in as it gives lovely strength :0)
My favoutite tool is a lace pin with a round metal ball head. Its tiny and I spend a lot of time on the floor looking for it LOL but its my favourite , also love my knitting needles, I sculpt my heads on the end of a 2mm knitting needle as in miniature it gives the perfect size hole for the wire !
julie xxx