Adobe: A Sculpting Material for Maquettes
When I approach the intricate and rewarding creation of a sculpture, the maquette stage is undeniably essential. It serves as a vital space for ideas to form, evolve and ultimately come to life - a raw, tactile process that effectively bridges the gap between initial concept and final realisation.
I have carefully developed a specific Adobe recipe as a sculpting material that is versatility, practicality and intrinsic in its qualities and beautifully align with my unique creative process. This choice allows me to explore various dimensions and forms, enabling greater flexibility in my artistic expression.
Adobe, as a material, has a deep rooted connection to human history. Traditionally used in construction, its natural composition of clay, sand and organic matter has been utilised for centuries to create enduring structures. I use a very specific mix that contains ball clay, fine sand, plaster and stone dust. When the composition is just right, it creates a material that feels alive - a material that combines the fluid, crisp responsiveness of wet clay with the firmness and stability of plaster.
To add colour, I incorporate oxides such as red, yellow and black iron oxide, which enrich the material's natural tones and offer additional depth. Furthermore, I use different grades of sand and molochite, ranging from sharp to fine, to introduce varying levels of texture. While I deeply appreciate clay in its wet, plastic state, I find that once it dries and is fired in a kiln to vitrify, it loses its density and surface quality, often feeling insipid and opaque without external interventions. By contrast, Adobe sustains its organic, malleable nature while offering a grounded connection to the earth. This unique mix resonates in the pieces I create, bridging my appreciation for raw, fresh clay with the transformative qualities I admire in materials like bronze.
For my maquettes, I use jute draped over cardboard to create the structures and then apply the mix over this framework. Adobe offers a balance of flexibility and firmness - soft and workable when fresh, allowing for freeform exploration of shapes and forms. As it dries, it hardens slightly, enabling me to refine details and experiment with textures. This duality mirrors my own creative process - an initial explosion of ideas that gradually crystallises into something more defined.
Adobe also lends itself well to scaling up, serving as a transitory material in the creative process. Once a maquette is completed, it is often recycled or evolved further, making it an integral but impermanent stage in the journey. I scan the maquette digitally to create a 3D model, capturing the texture beautifully and translating the hand sculpted nuances into digital form. This digital model becomes the ultimate outcome, providing the essential information needed to evolve the piece into its next stage, often to be cast in bronze. This blend of the traditional and the modern allows me to retain the authenticity of the handmade while leveraging technology to develop and refine the final piece.
