Tag: sculpture

In week 2 of the Grzegorz Gwiazda workshop at the Barcelona Academy of Art we explored the walking figure.

We took a fresh approach to a walking figure pose by applying the concepts of abstract dynamic composition that we explored in the previous week.

The “walking man” is an iconic pose used by artists through-out history that can be interpreted on many different levels. For example, it can be:

• part of a narrative interacting with the base in a way to tell a larger story
• representative of a psychological or symbolic state
• simply an exploration of the form or pose

Historic Walking Figure Sculptures

Here are some examples of famous walking figures from through-out the history of art:

My Process

First, I developed some sketches and made some paper collages to work out where I wanted to go with the walking figure concept. The class was fortunate to have three models at our disposable who were willing to assume the poses we wanted to work on. What a treat to have a live model playing the role of the walking figure!

I explored the idea of incorporating different shapes into the body as a literal comment on the way we burden ourselves with stuff – things we buy, things we hold onto, things we accumulate that serve us no purpose.

The face has a blithe expression as if unaware of the body’s consuming habits.

This form has so much to explore that I’m working on a series now to elaborate on this concept.

Watch for more updates on work in the studio or check out ellenscobie.com for more sculptures.

I found so much inspiration in an excellent two-week workshop given by Grzegorz Gwiazda at the Barcelona Art Academy. We started off exploring the concept of abstract dynamic composition as applied to an abstract sculpture.

Important considerations:

• how is weight distributed throughout the form
• what are the transitions within the form – falling, touching, melting
• steer yourself away from rhythmic repetition; your mind expects this but it’s so much more satisfying to be surprised by the unpredictable
• Delight with changes in scale, contrast, asymmetry

I explored some ideas for the sculpture in my notebook. I had trouble visualizing the sculpture when rotated!

My idea was to have a hard fist at one end that transitioned to a round, soft form at the other end. Underneath the belly would be punctuated with small shards.

The sculpture came together without deviating much from the initial sketch although I wasn’t altogether satisfied with the round shape. I would definitely explore this shape more, maybe building it with connecting flat surfaces if I were to work on this idea again.

This sculpture had to be broken down and the clay re-purposed for my next sculpture, an interpretation of the iconic “walking figure” pose.