Sculpture

Sculptures can be made with many different mediums. Some typical examples of mediums that can be used to sculpt with is: stone, bar soap, bone, antler, clay, paper, wood, metal, wire, and glass. Sculpting in wax is commonly used for casting. Unlike the other types of art mediums I have included here, different types of sculpture use different tools and techniques. Sub-pages have been created to help clearly identify tools and techniques related to that type of sculpture. Some information may overlap but it is always good to know when it does.

Casting is another form of sculpture that is not included on this website at this time. It is mentioned on the metal page but it is likely a page will be added for this at another time. However, even though there is nothing included about it as of yet, please share your resources if you have any!

https://www.flickr.com/photos/dalbera/4921654776

Key Terms

You can find most term definitions here: www.artlex.com.

Brazing
Relief
Low Relief
High Relief
Armature
Base
Free Standing
Kinetic
Assemblage
Mold
Undercut
Additive
Subtractive

Medium Types

Stone - Alabaster, marble, limestone, soapstone, etc...

Ceramics - Natural/clay (earthenware, stoneware, porcelain), plasticine or plastelina (natural oil based clay), and polymer or modeling (man-made poly vinyl chloride or PVC clays).

Paper - paper, paper mâché, origami, and paper-clay (paper pulp mixed with bonding materials to create a solid form when dried).

Wood - Aspen, basswood, butternut, cherry, mahogany, sugar maple, white oak, sugar and white pines, black walnut.

Metal - Copper, silver, brass, and gold are commonly used for constructed metal arts such as jewelry making and aluminum, bronze, iron, steel, are typical for casting.

Glass - blown and fusion (kiln baked)

Resources

Buy Supplies

It's recommended to shop at stores that specialize in sculpture supplies in order to find the best variety of supplies available. Sometimes these some or only one of these websites will carry a specific item. It's also worth shopping around these websites and the other general art stores (links found on the Information, Ideas, & Inspiration page) for the best deal. Some supplies can be considerably cheaper on one site than another.

References

Photo credit: Jean-Pierre Dalbéra - creative commons - The Age of Maturity (second version), 1899, Bronze, Camille Claudel