Sculpture Studio Friday

Getting ready to mix the plaster

So, Friday's are the best because there are no classes scheduled. And while you may think that this means every week has a three day weekend, you may also be mistaken. They actually give us this day off so that we can get caught up on all of our work. In some way, they know inherently that for a 3.5 hour class, there is not enough time outside to do the proper amount of homework. In addition to just the college class time:homework ratio, there is the fact that we are making art projects and everything has to be just right. There is no project that you do it once and everything turns out perfect. We're just not that lucky.

This past Friday I went into the sculpture studio to get caught up on my work. We're prepping for our final project which is a carved item directly out of plaster. This meant I had to mix enough plaster to fill a box that is 18in x 10in x 15in. So me and a few other friends who were behind in studio took time out of our beautiful Friday afternoon to mix plaster. And when I say time I mean 2 hours on our hands and knees, elbow deep in plaster.

Getting into the fun

While it was a nice day out with the temperature above 50, we had just finished our last project, and we wanted to be anywhere but stuck inside the studio, it was actually a really fun afternoon. Spending time with great people just talking and enjoying the process. Even though a lot of our bonding was complaining about critiques and due dates and horrible assignment foils, it was extremely nice experience. When I was a science major I barely got to know my fellow classmates. We were all very focused on studying and passing our classes that we acted more like horses with blinders on than people with the same general interests and purposes. It was very refreshing having a conversation while getting homework done. Very cathartic even.

After a couple hours, we're starting to get a little loopy...

 As you should be able to see from the photos, this was an extremely messy process.  I, for one, am horrible about staying clean while working and ended up a slightly mobile plaster cast myself.  I'm pretty sure its going to take a week to get the plaster out of my jeans alone.  When I left I not only had dried plaster bits all down my front and shoes, but I also had plaster dust particles glued to my arms and hands which in turn transferred over to my black jacket.  And then my car keys.  And purse.  And eventually scared a fellow classmate in the photo lab who thought I was a reptile shedding a layer of skin.  If you couldn't guess I went straight home and showered.

Monday I will begin the process of turning my tiny little clay model into a full sized sculpture.  I have roughly 2.5 weeks to finish this project and get it ready for final critique, plus finishing all the rest of my homework for this class which is considerable.  Especially considering I have to fix my other sculpture that broke last week ten minutes before critique.  Oh well, cest la vie.  Needless to say, I'll be very busy the next few weeks.  That'll teach me for taking 4 studio classes in 1 quarter.  Not that I won't do it again, but I can definitely see why they tell you not to :-)