Customer Reviews

The Figure in Clay: Contemporary Sculpting Techniques by Master Artists (A Lark Ceramics Book)

5 star:		(17)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Has Lark ever published a `bad' ceramics book? I purchased The Figure in Clay: Contemporary Sculpting Techniques by Master Artists sight unseen and was not disappointed. This is simply the latest in a long list of wonderful Lark ceramics books that inform, delight and inspire potters and sculptors. For any potter interested in exploring figurative sculpture this book is a must. But this is NOT a beginners book. There is not a word of explanation about greenware, bisqueware, cones, or the purchasing and operating of equipment such as kilns or all of the hundreds of other details that you need to know to use this book successfully.
Clay is both a very forgiving and very demanding medium and these artists make it look deceptively simple. You are not ready for this book until you have had your projects crack, stick to the shelf or explode in your kiln and believe me they will. If you are new to pottery and clay I suggest that you first purchase a different lark book, Making Ceramic Sculpture: Techniques * Projects * Inspirations by Raul Acero. Work through these projects, learn the techniques introduced by Raul and then you will be ready to tackle the more advanced projects introduced in The Figure in Clay.
Nine artist are featured in The Figure in Clay. All use a wide variety of what should be familiar techniques: coiling, pinching, slab, casting, and molds - alone or in combinations to create some of the best modern ceramic sculpture being produced today. Each of the featured artist writes an introductory essay explaining their philosophy, work and techniques. This is followed by a detailed step-by-step project that illustrates in pictures and text a typical project. Each starts with the concept through to the finished project. Finally there is a gallery of work by other figurative artists suggest by the featured artist. Putting nine master artists together provides a feast of information, inspiration and ideas that makes you anxious to get into the studio to begin to explore. I am sure The Figure in Clay will provide a source that you will mine repeatedly for years to come.
Finally I would also suggest that you purchase an earlier Lark book The Penland Book of Ceramics: Masterclasses in Ceramic Techniques. This book is also written for the more experienced potter-sculptors and is not entirely about sculpture. It follows the same format as The Figure in Clay. I find myself consistently gleaming new ideas as I have repeatedly returned to the various artists. All three books are must haves in the library of every serious potter-sculptor and are highly recommended.

I recently purchased this book, and it has been a source of great inspiration to me. I began sculpting a human figure, something I thought not possible for me to do. I have been a student in a Pottery class for the past 4 years and my teacher Moira Beale is a master potter (she has been in ceramics for 25 years). She said she didn't think it would be possible to sculpt in clay a figure without using the traditional armature method. However, following the instructions in this book I have begun a scuplture without armature, it is now ready for bisque firing and I am so excited.

This book is an excellent resource for anyone interested in sculpting the figure. The step by step photos and descriptions of different artists' methods are clear and provide a nice range of different approaches to sculpting the figure. Only drawback is that most if not all the artists are using low-fire clay. It would have been nice to have some examples of artists sculpting in high fire--a much less forgiving process.

This book is very inspirational to the figurative artist. Some of the work is truly spectacular, and all of it is interesting. I was wondering if I'd like this book before I purchased it, but I am certainly glad I did now. In particular, the works of Adrian Arleo, and my favorite, Christyl Boger, stand out prominently.

The parts on casting and molding are helpful as well. I have never seen such a book where proporton and detailing of the human figure at this scale are illustrated in a step by step fashion, and from rolled coil, slab, and pinched clay at that. Just the pictures of various works and styles would be inspiring enough, but here you have multiple how-tos. Some of the details are glossed over in places, but you are given enough information to where you'd be able to attempt this yourself with little problem. Stock up on clay though. :) There are plenty of smaller works, and abstract examples abound as well as realism.

This book is one of my art favorites now. I may buy another copy for a library use, and keep this one for studio abuse. While the end result of a lot of this art may be intimidating to the newbie, given the high level of finish and proportion, you do not want to pin your technique on books where the end result shown is not representative of the pinnacle you could achieve. This book allows you to set your sights high, along with telling you how to get there as well. You'll just need some practice (same as myself) Now if only I had a really large kiln. :) Firing the end result, which is an art itself, is not covered other than sculpture prep such as venting, etc.

In short, this book was a surprise find, one I've not found in my local bookstores, but one which should be among the main titles they carry.

All of these great reviews led me to put this on my wishlist...and I'm sorry that I did, because although I received it as a gift and spent none of my own money on it, I'm sorely disappointed in this book. I was looking for a book of SCULPTING TECHNIQUES - you know, how to make faces and human proportions or tips on sculpting hands and feet. Instead, I get a coffee-table book of self-serving artist-written essays in a barely readable font, galleries of absolutely horrid abstract/modern art, and 3-4 pages per chapter with vague snapshots of the artist's process in making *one* of their sculptures, with very little instructive technique. Photo A shows a blocked outline of a foot, then photo B shows one angle of the completed foot, and the only narrative you get with it is "the foot, blocked out," and "the foot, completed." It's also a lot of life-sized or nearly life-sized figure work.

I'm not "new" to pottery. I know how to do coils, slaps, pinch-pots, and plaster casting, and I learned very little from this book about The Figure In Clay -- here, I'll save you the $16.47 -- some ceramic artists make molds of people's faces and hands, circumventing the need for actual talent, and most modern art is positively repulsive but the artists themselves are the only ones who really understand their work. Not all of it is bad; I agree with the other reviewer that Christyl Boger's work is great even if her finishes leave something to be desired, and some other works are... interesting... but nothing I'd want to emulate as an artist or find inspiring except in the way that one finds a car wreck inspiring oneself to drive a little more carefully.

I'll say it again for those of you who might want this book for its instructional value: It is NOT an instructional book. It is a book for people who like weird, bizarre art and enjoy seeing a few "in-process" photos of how it's done but don't really do ceramic art themselves so they don't care about *every* part of the procedure. It's a book for art students, up-and-coming art critics, and "modern ceramic artists" who are looking to find out what's already been done in the art world to shock and disturb, so that they can create something even worse. But this book is NOT for people who prefer classical sculpture or for people who want to know more of the ins and outs of actual figure sculpting.

I like this book very much for what it is, and that is a showcase of work and methods that are out there. If you are a clay worker who has a little bit of handbuilding experience, here is a book that will expand your horizons. I've seen many of the contributers in magazines like Ceramics Monthly, and they all have unique working methods that are worth examining. Some of the methods are not described in exceptional detail; but they still make you say things like,"Oh, that's how it can be done!" or "Oh, I never thought of working in that manner." If you want specific detailed instructions on things like slip casting or what have you, get a book on it (The Clay Lover's Guide to Mold Making, another Lark book is a fine example). What these artists demonstrate is synthesis --bringing the techniques together to create the whole, a rare quality in instructional art books. Another thing I appreciate about this book is the photo galleries, which include a broad cross section of work. All in all, I feel this is a well rounded survey book.

I bought this based on all the high reviews, but I am sorely disappointed. The book has 9 chapters devoted to an individual artist. Within each chapter are three offerings: a discussion by the artist of art history, technique and/or inspiration; a pictoral explaination of their technique; and a gallery of their work and invited artists.

The gallery: I see a collection of artists' photos such as this as intended to inspire creativity and desire to create. Unfortunately for me, the work of the "invited artists" was almost universally appalling. Scooby and friends naked on the toilet, smoking dope and reading comics while calling it "US Interests" is neither inspiring nor particularly creative. Everybody has their opinion and this is mine. If you agree with mine, this is probably not the book for you. If you think this sort of subject matter is genius then here is a book full of "genius".

That said, I do not wish to decry all of the works in here. Adrian Arleo's "Honey Child" is brilliant and "Plumage" is inspiring, all of Christyl Boger's sculpting is magnificent (though not necessarily her finishes), Justin Novak's "Disfigurine (Competition)" is very interesting, and I enjoyed Nan Smith's work with casting and molds.

The techniques: The pictoral guides are moderately helpful. The techiniques discussed are rather limited however. You get Coil, Coil + Pinch, Slab + Casting, Coil, Slab, Pinch, Casting + Molds, Coil + Form, and Coil + Pinch (notice a theme?). The book should be released under the name "The Figure in Coiled Clay" so people won't get confused into thinking this book has more to offer than that.

The discussions by the artists: this sort of thing is hard to judge because each artist speaks in a different voice that is heard differently by each reader. I won't even attempt to offer a review or judgement of these parts because of the individual personal nature. In reading all 9 of these accounts you may find only one sentence that speaks to you (or more than one even). But if that sentence is the one you are needing to see or hear to get you started, then this book was priceless. So I offer no guidance or judgements on these parts.

I wouldn't call this book bad, and is probably useful to some. For me it is nowhere near the top of my list. If you want an extensive collection of sculpture books this one should be included eventually. Or if you are interested in the Coil technique, this may be the best book out there (I really couldn't say). If you want a short list of books on proportions and techniques, this doesn't belong. It therefore appears that I am more of a Classical Sculpture fan, I find very little to motivate, inspire or interest me here beyond the few I mentioned previously.

I've been wanting to get into ceramics for a while and this book was just the thing to get my creative juices flowing. It has many (500 actually) beautiful pieces to admire, with such a wide selection of styles. I love that it has a both beautiful and grotesque figures revealing so many artistic view points. It's definitely not a "how to" book, with just enough info to get a basic idea of how each piece was created but the beautiful photographs and wide variety of sculptures makes it well worth purchasing.

Fantastic book! What a joy! I agree with some of the other reviews that this is perhaps, not a book for novice sculptors. However, if you are working in clay; already been creating sculptures; and are looking for a way to increase the size of your work, this is the book for you. It will be a timeless treasure for me. Just seeing how other sculptors are currently working gets my juices flowing.

Pay particular attention to the "gallery" at the end of each section. After being blown away by the featured artists work, you get into their heads a little more by seeing examples they have chosen of other sculptors work. Good stuff!

If you are a beginner, don't be put off by the lack of basic information. Go take a class in clay--whether it's on the wheel or hand-building--get inspired and keep this book to remind you of what could be in your future.

After checking this book out of my library to use as a reference for sculpting I knew I wanted to own a copy. The various artist's methods of sculpting are particularly interesting as I develop my skills. The book is beautifully and consisely written with relevant photos of works in progress.