Figurative Artist -- Mario Diltiz

The artist I chose was Mario Dilitz, who works in bronze, wood, and also impressions. I was most drawn to his life-sized wood sculptures.  His biology says that he combined traditional sculpture method with technical techniques.  

   The wood he uses, it is noted, is laminated, because traditional wood wouldn't be able to withstand the sculpting.  He lives in Austria and has been putting on shows since 2009.  

    I really like his wood sculptures, because the faces all have an expression, and anatomically they're very well done.  They look like living people that you could touch, and their skin would be warm.  They have bone bumps and places where they're chubbier, and they just look like real humans. 

His website is: 

http://www.mariodilitz.com/en/home/?no_cache=1

Vessel

   To make these pieces I had to learn to throw on the wheel, which was a challenge all in itself.  Originally, I wanted to make longer, skinnier cups, but every time I got the piece to the height and the width I wanted, inevitably something would happen, so I gave up on the specificity of that design for shorter, wider cups.  I almost think that that worked out better, in the long run. Another challenge was the forshortening of the faces.  I don't know if you would call it foreshortening in this term, but I was trying to take the flat fronts of the cups and give them dog/canine faces.  So, I slipped-scored clay noses to the front to try to make it look like the noses were coming out, but I don't know how well I accomplished that.
   All in all, I think it was really successful and I am so happy!  Some of the old glazed I used disn't work out so well … I sort of expected that to happen, though.  So, I'm going over it with clear glaze. But it looks much better than I thought it would, and I'm so happy to see everything that I worked on as a viable product.  I honestly thought they were going to explode in the kiln or somehow break before I ever got to see them finished.
     I hope that they're going to be functional.  I hope I can fix up the glaze enough to be able to drink out of them.  That would be the coolest thing ever.
     All characters are owned by Tom Siddell.

Pinterest Inspiration Board

It's here. 

Molds

I hate molds.

I did not do a full size mold because my vessels were slowly drying and I was in a bit of a panic, so I did one of the ice cube molds.  I don't know if it was my fault or if that was just what the mold looked like, but it came out looking insanely creepy.  And I couldn't fit the clay into all the crevices?  

   There was that same lack of control, I guess.  Maybe if I ever use one of the bigger molds, I'll like the experience better.