module 6: through the looking glass and sculptures

Chloe Carr
Module #6

1. For the video Through the Eyes of the Sculpture, there were many things that I learned. The video was a documentation of what one sculpturer does as a process to create a single sculpture. I wasn't entirely sure how sculptures were made before I watched this video, but after watching it I now know that sculptures are made through a series of events. The sculptures made by the artist in this video starts his process by using sculpting clay that will look like the real model. Using silicone clay comes after the model is made, and then the mold is filled up with plaster to make the object. I enjoyed watching the hardened clay or mold be chipped after the final piece was made, because it looked to me like the final sculpture was locked inside of the shell.
    The other video, Glass and Ceramics, was very informational and entertaining for a number of reasons. Just like sculpting, using clay is a must when it comes to sculpting glass and ceramics. The clay pieces used in this video have to be put in heat to actually do their job. The reason that extreme heat is used is so that it would be possible for the glass to move. I didn't know that glass sculptures needed so much heat while being made, but I really like seeing it being made first-hand. The only thing that makes me uneasy is how dangerous the process looks.

2. The videos can relate to the text in a number of ways. For one, the very first video is a lot like what the text says about sculpting in Chapter 11. There are many methods of sculpting, and after reading the text, I think the method that the artist in the video used is carving and casting. Just like in the video, the process starts with a mass of material and the artist subtracts pieces to create the sculpture. The second video can relate to the text because Chapter 12 talks about the process of sculpting with glass. The text focuses on how glass vessels are made by blowing. During this process, which can relate to the video, molten glass is put at the end of a metal tube and the artist has to blow on each end until there's a glass bubble that can be shaped or cut while it's still hot.

3. I really liked the films. I think if I had just read the chapters in the book I don't think I would completely understand what the process is when creating sculptures and glass. The films are an extended version of what the text is about. None of the processes described in the chapters and the videos look easy to do, but I think after learning how they are made I've learned to appreciate them more than I did before.