Mastering Sculpture: The Figure in Clay: A Guide to Capturing the Human Form for Ceramic Artists

Explore the human form in depth, from concept sketches and armatures to detailed instructions for constructing legs, torso, arms, hands, and head from clay.

In Mastering Sculpture: The Figure in Clay, renowned sculptor and instructor Cristina Córdova teaches everything you need to know to replicate the full human figure using clay.

- Start by developing meaningful sketches and reference points.
- Then learn how to make and use an armature to create hollow forms that are safe to fire in a kiln.
- Using patterns and slabs, you can move on to develop a full human form, head to toe.
- Work along with the author to create a form about two-feet tall, or choose your own size: the patterns and instructions can work in a variety of scales.

Photographic demonstrations and diagrams cover the construction and articulation of feet and legs, the hip area and upper torso, arms, hands, neck, and head. Cristina includes supplementary tips and insights throughout to support the sculpting process and enhance naturalism. You’ll also find a brief section on general anatomical concepts and modeling strategies to facilitate accuracy and expression as all the components come together.

Whether you are a clay artist with limited experience in figurative sculpture or a figurative sculptor outside the world of ceramics looking for a straightforward fabrication strategy to create permanent compositions from clay, Mastering Sculpture: The Figure in Clay will expertly guide your way.

About the Author:

Cristina Córdova is a contemporary artist and sculpting instructor whose work is collected around the world. She is featured in the permanent collection of the Smithsonian American Art Museum; The Colección Acosta de San Juan, Puerto Rico; the Mint Museum of Craft + Design; the Museum of Contemporary Art; and the Alfred Ceramic Art Museum, among others. She is the recipient of numerous grants and award, including NC Arts Council Fellowship Grant, a Virginia Groot Foundation Recognition Grant, several International Association of Art Critics of Puerto Rico awards, and in 2015 the prestigious United States Artist Fellowship award. Her work is widely featured in all major ceramics and arts media, including the covers of Ceramics Monthly, and was featured by Craft in America, on PBS, in their episode on Identity.

Cristina has taught and demonstrated around the world, though she focuses mostly on US locations. Her residencies, workshops, and classes include: Harvard University, the University of California, the University of Nebraska, the University of Georgia, the University of North Carolina School of the Arts, Ceramistas de Reñaca in Chile, the Australian National University in Canberra, Gaya Ceramics in Bali, Penland School of Crafts (NC), Haystack Mountain School (ME), Santa Fe Clay (NM), Mudfire (GA), Odyssey Center for Ceramics (NC), and Anderson Ranch (CO), among others.