Forensic Sculpture 2017 - Day 1

Forensic Sculpture - Day 1

So I decided to retake the Forensic Sculpture workshop at the Academy. I had a blast last year, learned a lot, and felt like my artistic skill was being used for a novel purpose. This year again, I will be creating an accurate skull-to-face reconstruction.

So this is the information about my Skull:

M-85-3894

Sex: Male 

Age: 18-25

Ancestry: White, including Hispanic 

Height: Approximately 5'7"

Tooth Loss: All missing teeth would have been present during life.

Damage: There is an autopsy cut along the cranium. The right zygomatic arch should be completely (the space is due to a 3-D printing error). There is missing bone associated with the nasal (top of the nose) that is the result of damage. 

Circumstances: Body found in 1985

Other information: Black, wavy hair approximately 3-4 inches in length.

I was shocked by how much I had forgotten from the first class, so I am going to use this blog to document the steps of forensic sculpture. 

The skull stand is made up from bits of hardware screwed together with a piece of metal sandwiched between. The idea is to create an adjustable stand for the skull's palette.

After the skull stand was complete, we now begin to prep the skull. First step is to connect the jawbone to the skull. This is done by recreating the cartilage that connects these two bone together, using super glue and cotton swabs. The super glue fumes from the almost 20 skulls in the tiny room got a little too much for me to handle. I had to step out of the class for a bit to catch some air. 

After the fumes subsided, stabilizing my the skull in the stand was the next step.  This is done simply by creating a clay plug around the base of the stand.

Now the skull is stable and passed the requisite test of turning the whole structure upside down and seeing if it would fall off.

Next, we covered the pipe and began to fill in the mouth. That was where we ended Day 1.

Did I mention I had a blast last year in this class? Here I am in the foreground, working the class:

Master Class: Vincent Desederio

The New York Academy offered a weekend of Master Classes. As always, I jumped at the opportunity  and had had a great experience at Vincent Desiderio's Master Class.

I really enjoyed listening to his lectures on the "Anxiety of Influence" by Harold Bloom and now have another book to read. His idea of looking to literary criticism as pointing to viewpoints to art criticism is really intriguing.

Above is about five hours between the drawing and the painting. I'm pretty happy with it

The models were Ryan and Adrian.

Ecroche Arm #2

Arm Ecroche #2  Oil Clay

So this post is a test of a couple of things. My new phone and camera as well a new interface to update this blog. So far it's working pretty well.

I'm taking pictures of this sculpture that I did for my Advanced Anatomy class at the New York Academy of Art. This is the second arm écorché I did. I am pretty happy with it. The arm's twist made the piece a bit of a challenge.

I have a few views of it. What do you think?

Danielle 12 Hours, Number 2

Lunchables, burritos and made sandwiches. 

Graphite and watercolor on paper. Next step, a layer of encaustic wax.

Danielle 12, Number 6

Juice containers. Graphite and watercolor on paper. Next step, a layer of encaustic wax.

Danielle 12 Hours, Number 5

Graphite and watercolor on paper. Next step, a layer of encaustic wax.

Danielle 12 hours, Number 3

Graphite and watercolor on paper. Next step, a layer of encaustic wax.

Day Three, Drawing III

This charcoal drawing is Day Three from my New York Academy of Art drawing class with Michael Grimaldi. 

Good drawings take a long time and this one is finally coming along nicely. I think I have the arm worked out after trying all day to get the proportions correct. I did not take photos of this drawing until today because I was not confident that it would turn out right.

Standing Figure

My clay sculpture is day two and the final day from Bruce Gagnier's Master Class. The workshop was a great experience and helped me hammer down my anatomy skills. Gagnier is very knowledgeable and not very precious with his sculptures.

Tamie Beldue Master Class

This was the first drawing I did for the Tamie Beldue Master Class at the New York Academy of Art. Master Classes are when professional artists come by and teach a weekend workshop and it is a fine way for art students to gain a different perspective. I try to take advantage of the special classes when they are offered.

I started this drawing with charcoal powder and then worked out the elements in vine charcoal, an easy, flexible medium to work with. This drawing took about and hour and a half and is in the process of transition. The drawing is losing its linear elements in favor of more shape. Beldue made sure to make the process a challenge by adding the ever-changing robe to the model setup.

The overall thing I learned was how Beldue approaches drawing and technically how she gets a "complete" feeling to her drawings. Her process inspired and energized me to complete my own project that has been on hold for awhile.