Vertebrae Experiments

Vertebrae experiments text:

Here I have experimented with creating a sample vertebrae following the measurements and scale that I had planned for. I decided upon a 160 x 130 cm measurement as this took into account the distance between the walls of the corner space I have chosen to present my final major piece whilst not seeming out of place surrounded by a large white tone environment. Although as I am unable to enter the studio at this time due to quarantine, I have also chosen and measured a corner wall within my house in case we do not return to college so that I could present the final major piece there instead.

For the process of creating each vertebrae I have sculpted a variety of interesting shapes that I have studied from human bones and throughout my research of skeletons using newspaper. I decided to loosely secure these shapes with masking tape to allow the newspaper to became slightly unravelled to create a sense of a natural form within the vertebrae.  I feel that this technique was quite successful as referencing the photographs of bones that I studied from life alongside the studies of Leonardo Da Vinci I discovered that the vertebrae were not perfectly rectangular as I had previously thought and so the variation in shapes and forms create a sense of realism.

To create a sense of texture similar to the textures that I have studied on bones from life, I am planning to apply a layer of mod-roc to further the sense of form and dimension of the vertebrae sculpture followed by a darker base tone brown of acrylic and a layer of lighter brown using the dry brush technique to apply a sense of texture. I feel that I will use a wire armature structure for support within the final major piece as newspaper is not quite a firm enough sculptural material to keep its original form.

Here I have compared the sizes of the two test vertebrae that I have created using the same techniques but applying different scales and measurements to them. I do feel that the smaller vertebrae is quite successful as I was able to capture more detail and texture within the form of the piece and it required a lot less materials than the larger vertebrae which is more cost effective for me during the quarantine.  Although I do prefer the scale and the way in which the viewer’s eye would be drawn to a large scale bone and ribcage sculpture but I am quite worried about the cost of materials to be able to complete this aspect of my final major piece.