Heidi Maiers Portrait Sculptor

For the photo session, my husband and I built this large turntable so the model could sit in the chair, assume a pose, and be rotated and photographed without interruption. A white paper drop is placed behind the turntable and photos are snapped at every 1/16-turn increment. 3 full sets are taken at 3 different eye levels.

Along with photos, I use a large pair of calipers to get a rough set of measurements. I made this simple sheet to illustrate and note various distances. If I were going to make a different size bust (say 75%), then I would take each number and multiply by.75 to arrive at a set of 75% life-size measurements.

I start with a galvanized plumbing pipe screwed into a flange that is screwed into a board that is secured to my modeling stand. I slide a hefty bag over the pipe since water based clay needs to be kept wet and air tight between sessions. I loosely wrap the pipe with newspaper and then tape a paper sack over the top that has been filled with shredded paper. Because this bust has shoulders, I make some shoulder supports out of two toilet paper rolls and twisted paper running across the length and through of both of them, and secure them with masking tape. When the bust is finished, I’ll simply slide the bust straight up and off of the armature and let it dry.

Starting from the bottom, I add big slabs of clay and work my way up. I cover the armature and rough in basic measurements of the head. I mark a centerline down the front and back of her head and tilt her head in the desired pose. At this stage, the clay is very soft, so I inserted a pipe under the chin to keep the head steady while this underlayer is allowed to stiffen for a day, loosely wrapped in plastic. The clay will become quite firm and will act as a support for the additional soft clay as it’s added.

The next day, the clay is hard enough to support fresh clay, which is added as the bust is roughed in a little more. Toothpicks are inserted in the earholes to make it easier to visualize the horizontal line of the face and keep things symmetrical

Once the bust is roughed in, I can slide a photo into a clear sleeve, draw the outline with a white board marker, and remove the photo, leaving a “window” I can use to check proportions. I simply hold up the outline and look through it lining it up against the bust so it fits at the same angle and eye level. Then I can carve/add clay where needed. This photo sort of shows what I mean, although I don’t have it lined up correctly while trying to look through the camera lens and plastic at the same time, but you get the jest of it.

Here, most of the features are roughed in. This is roughly 30 pounds of clay so far. Eyes and ears come next, then rough in the hair.

Normally, I don’t hollow them out, but in this case, because she has such a long, thin neck, I decided to reduce some of the stress on the neck by making the head a little lighter. Here, I’ve cut open the skull and removed the shredded paper sack and about 5 pounds of clay, leaving the head walls about a half inch thick. The clay is stiff enough it will support itself, yet still wet enough to bond back together well. I score and wet the seams, put the pieces back together, and fill the seam with really wet clay, then reshape the area. The area will be covered with hair, which will reinforce the seam further.

Here she is almost fully roughed in. Most of the hair, eyes, and ears are stuck on and the volume of the body is filled out a little more. Now it's time to really study the photos and start developing a likeness.

Here's what the back looks like so far. Looks a little like a melon head at this point. Doing the clip and fluff of hair at the top should be interesting, but since those parts will be thin, I'll do them later.

A little farther along - still working on the likeness. Not there yet. This is the part that takes the longest - moving, adjusting everything until all the pieces fall into place.