What made you decide to include a part of a human face?
It’s just an idea that came to me in the moment. So I started experimenting. I used a mold to make a human face with clay, and then incorporated it into my sculpture.
How did you create your sculpture?
First I made a base by coiling the clay. Then I rolled out a slab of clay and made a cylindrical support for the head to sit on. Then I sculpted the form, building up the nose and head. Once the clay was thick enough, I hollowed out the inside of the piece so it wouldn’t be too heavy. The horns had to be created separately. After they hardened a little bit but could still be manipulated, I added them to the sculpture. Then I perfected the rough surface. My teacher helped me fire it in a metal trash can outside my school. Finally, I touched up the features that I wanted to highlight, like the eyes, with black and copper paint.
Why did you fire it in a trash can?
I wanted the sculpture to have a natural finish. The carbon from the fire gave the surface a nice range of colors from brown and tan to black.