How to put eye glasses on clay portraits

[JSmith]

Most glasses I see on sculputers are thick rimmed. How would I do thin rimmed glasses, or glasses with no rims just bows in water-based clay. Should I make a one-wire armature to wrap with clay for stablity? Or should I do the glasses in one of the more stable materials to add to the water-bases clay portrait? I am new to sculpturing so I don't have a clue. -- Jerry

[sculptor]

Hi Jerry

Have you seen Teddy Roosevelt's glasses at mt rushmore?
just the wire part is shown
easier to cast and/or fire if the frame is part of the clay
rod
sculptor (http://home.mindspring.com/~mandali/id2.html)

[fritchie]

Jerry - I think people should feel free to symbolize glasses just as they do eyes. Eyes commonly are just holes, or sometimes holes with a small V-shaped insert, used to represent a glint of reflected light. A full or partial frame of plastic could be added to the clay before casting, if that is considered appropriate, and if the work is lifesize, or a frame in appropriate size is available.

Plastic and many other materials would burn away along with the wax, if the piece is cast in bronze or any other metal - aluminum, stainless, etc. One reason for thick rims is to be sure the metal fills the opening in the mold. If the rims were too thin, they might fail to cast completely.

[JSmith]

Thanks for the tips. I'll experiment. When I do a watercolor portrait I hint at the glasses. I tried that with one clay piece but I didn't think it would hold up. Jerry

[Tirebiter]

You could also go "multimedia" and just attach glasses (an actual pair of glasses or ones made out of wire or what-have-you) after your piece is fired.

Incidentally, if you are trying to work with forms in clay that are very delicate, you might consider working with "paper clay". This is nothing but clay with disaggregated paper fibers mixed in, but it is purported to have some extraordinary properties with regard to firing ware of nonuniform thickness, repair of cracks and even joining of dry ware. The widespread use of paper clay is fairly recent, but they sell the stuff at ceramics retailers.

www.potters.org has a large indexed forum archive dealing with lots of questions over materials and methods.

Eric

[Merlion]

Related to this Thread about glasses on portrait sculptures, here is an interesting recent news article on vandals damaging such glasses, and on repairing them with more vandal-resistant glasses on bronze figure sculptures.

After vandalism, Rouse statue to get new glasses

James Rouse is getting new glasses.

More accurately, the bronze sculpture of Columbia's late founder is set to receive new specs now that vandals have bent his glasses for the second time in three years. [snip]

Having seen enough, CA officials last week returned the sculpture to its creator, Baltimore sculptor William Duffy, to be fitted with a $1,100 pair of vandal-proof glasses. [snip]

CA officials hope Duffy's latest effort will help to better preserve the statue.

"We think the sculptor's solution will make it more vandal-resistant," Monahan said.

The thin rims on the eyeglasses were one of the more realistic features on the Rouse sculpture, Monahan said. But the heavier frames should be better, she added. ....

The full article can be found here (http://news.mywebpal.com/news_tool_v2.cfm?pnpID=573&NewsID=679106&CategoryID=742&show=localnews&om=1).

[Landseer]

"vandals have bent his glasses for the second time in three years.

to be fitted with a $1,100 pair of vandal-proof glasses.

"We think the sculptor's solution will make it more vandal-resistant," Monahan said.



Seems to me a better solution would be move it to a location where is won't be vandalised, or put it on a tall enough pedistal it can't be reached without a ladder. No matter how thick they make the glasses it's virtually guaranteed the vandals will work on that too, this time maybe with a piece of pipe, brick or crowbar. One can be fairly sure they read the article too and now look at the change and article as a public "challenge" that says "you can't break THESE off now" and sure enough they will show them they can

[Merlion]

Seems to me a better solution would be move it to a location where is won't be vandalised, or put it on a tall enough pedistal it can't be reached without a ladder. No matter how thick they make the glasses it's virtually guaranteed the vandals will work on that too, this time maybe with a piece of pipe, brick or crowbar.

Ha, ha ! You're right, Landseer. This is exactly the solution for another statue with glasses that get vandalised more than once. See below, shown with picture of the restored statue on a tall plinth.

But the cost for this restoration is quite high, nearly as much as the original cost of the statue.

Anyone commissioned to make statues or persons with glasses need to bear in mind these bad vandalisem experiences. They should if they can plan from the outset how to avoid them.

Dewar statue back in city centre

The statue of the late First Minister Donald Dewar has been returned to Glasgow after a two-month overhaul.

The 9ft bronze figure has been the target for vandalism, with its glasses bent on several occasions.

After a thorough clean, the piece has been returned and raised on a 6ft-high plinth to prevent attack.

It was hoped that CCTV cameras installed near the site outside the Buchanan Galleries shopping centre would also help deter vandals.

The cost of the restoration was said to be in the region of £25,000.

It took workmen more than three hours to remove the £30,000 figure in a delicate operation in October.

The full news article from the BBC is found here (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/scotland/4551062.stm).

[MISSKITTY]

I HAVE A BOOK BY DAISY GRUBBS ON PORTRAIT SCULPTURE AND SHE DEMONSTRATES ONE WEARING GLASSES.THE BOOK IS "MODELING A LIKENESS IN CLAY" HOPE THIS HELPS, MISSKITTY :p

[GlennT]

What I have done with the type of glasses you describe is to sculpt the upper part of the frame in clay, around to the hinges, below the hinges I incise a soft line in the clay where the edges of the lenses would be. This works in frontal bas-relief. For a full round sculpture I would add more frame in clay at the sides where there is a projection off of the face, and do the inscibed line across the top of the cheeks.

Glenn