Statement of Intent – Brief Synopsis of Model Proposal

I am going to make a ½ scale wax head bust model of artist and art therapy pioneer, Edith Kramer. She will be sculpted and painted to a realistic quality, hair punched, and dressed in clothing imitation at half scale. She will be displayed on a wooden stand with a plaque giving a brief description of the display for a museum setting. She will be displayed at just below eye level for the average visitor.

The model will be made for a museum audience and will be representational, leaving many open-ended questions for the viewer to explore. It will invite the visitor to engage in a narrative of curiosity and quiet significance that was the professional life of Edith Kramer as a founder of ‘art as therapy’ practise. This will be encouraged by the diminutive size combined with miniscule detail that, like Ron Mueck’s work, draws attention to the model.

The model will be able to be touched by the viewer, similar to the waxwork models in the Madame Tussaud’s museums. It is expected there will be upkeep of the model over time – I discuss conservation of wax figures in an upcoming post.

I will prepare for sculpting the realistic representation by drawing quick, and more detailed sketches first. I will also complete an oil paint study to understand the relationship of colours on her face. To understand the emotional realism I want to portray, I will read Kramer’s books and watch documentaries that she participated in. This combined, will give me an idea of both her physical and professional character, which will aid in creating my three-dimensional representation.

I think it is also important to mention that while planning for this project in early January of this year, I was not aware when the country would be coming out of lockdown, so I experimented with a few ideas on what to do. Therefore, this project has been partly designed to be achievable without complete access to the University workshop. This has meant that I have had to practise creative problem-solving and curiosity, as I adapted the project to a disordered environment. I believe this has strengthened the meaning in the making of my model, as Kramer commonly advocated for a playful attitude to difficult situations and changes, supported by art-making activities.

‘She had transformed a potentially upsetting experience into creative adventure.’

Kramer, E. (1971, pg. 84) discussing Lillian who approached a terrifying thunderstorm with a different emotional attitude due to the use of creative activities.

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Ron Mueck and the Narrative of Scale

Ron Mueck is an Australian artist born in 1958 in Melbourne, Australia. After starting out his career as a modelmaker for children’s TV, he became internationally known in 1997 after he made his sculpture of Dead dad. His work focuses singularly on the human figure, which he presents to his viewers through uncanny and beautifully detailed fibreglass and silicon sculptures. These present his perspective on existential topics such as birth and death, touching heavily on vulnerable emotional states experienced during these experiences.

Researching Mueck has been a significant influence on my project, most predominantly in the scaling of my model of Edith Kramer. Originally debating between creating her head bust in full scale or an alternate size, Mueck’s Two Women model’s manipulation of scale pushed me towards undersizing my model.

Ron Mueck’s Two Women showing the under-sizing of the model against a visitor.

Close-up of the Two Women faces.

‘I never made life-size figures because it never seemed to be interesting. We meet life-size people every day’

S. Tanguy, ‘The progress of Big man: A conversation with Ron Mueck’, Sculpture, vol. 22, no. 6, 2003

Senior Curator of the National Gallery of Victoria, Alex Baker, explains how through manipulating the size of his models, it ‘intensifies the physical and emotional aura of his figures.’ Mueck expands that this is because it ‘makes you take notice in a way that you wouldn’t do with something that’s just normal.’ In the case of the Two Woman, Justin Paton instigates that their diminutive size inspires ‘a kind of protectiveness in viewers, as if we’ve become custodians looking down upon the inhabitants of a small world’ (2013, pg. 34). At the same time, we also feel strangely defensive of ourselves, as the women are positioned in a suspicious pose, as if they are silently judging someone in their presence.

Therefore, despite, or perhaps due to their small size, the Two Women inspire both careful attention and solitude from the viewer, building an emotional narrative. Combined with the realistically finished look, this ‘creates a tension between artifice and reality’ (Baker, A.) that overall, results in this model’s meaning and narrative.

As such, scale can be deemed as noteworthy to the narrative of a model. My representation of Edith Kramer centres around a narrative of quiet significance of a warm and caring woman who has helped many in her life, and afterwards. Thus, under-sizing her just as Mueck did with his figures in Two Women, will help me to frame her importance to the viewer. They will be invited, almost drawn, to a realistic representation of a woman half the size we would expect to find her in, promoting quiet introspection and respect. I almost want the viewer to want to step ever closer to inspect her from up close, letting their imagination participate in an object-subject interaction of curiosity, an imitation of the theories of artistic exploration that Kramer emphasised in her work.

Predicting Problems and Finding Solutions

Studying modelmaking for the past couple of years, I have gained an understanding into some of the various processes that are involved in the practise of making. Approaching a new project, I think it would be helpful to use this existing knowledge alongside my continual research, to have an objective look at the work ahead and predict some of the issues I will encounter. Let’s find some solutions to these so that I feel more prepared!

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Sculpting

Problem	Solution
The armature might be too big/too small which will affect the stability of the sculpt and affect the surface sculpt.	I will note down measurements of my sculpt and then work backwards to ensure the armature is the right size.
The eyes might be put in the wrong depth.	Make sure the replacement eyes I am using for the sculpt are 12mm (1/2 of average eye size) so that they fit into the head. Also make sure the armature underneath is small enough so that I can dig the eyes deep enough.
The facial features and anatomy might look disconnected from each other.	Work in stages following the instructions of Edouard Lanteri to achieve correct anatomy. Keep taking measurements throughout. Work on facial features all together in stages, don’t finish one before the others.
Anatomically incorrect primary shapes that make the secondary and tertiary details look wrong.	Follow the instructions of Edouard Lanteri. Use a mirror and take photographs throughout to change perspective. Measurements!

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Moulding

Problem	Solution
I might take too long on sculpting.	Make a time plan for the entire project and stick to it! Encourage yourself to keep moving throughout the sculpt to discourage perfectionist tendencies.
When I put the first layer of silicon on I might smudge the details.	Pour the silicon on rather than brush it on for the first thin layer. Have a bowl underneath to catch the silicon and reuse.
The silicon does not cure.	Use a newer batch that you know has cured successfully in a previous test.
Air bubbles form in the silicon.	Use a vac former to reduce bubbles and pour from a distance to let gravity pop any remaining bubbles.
I forget to put the Vaseline on surfaces during the plaster stage.	Write up a plan for the moulding stage to take with you into the workshop and use as a reminder to do some important tasks.

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Casting

Problem	Solution
I might make the wax the wrong tint.	Get in touch with industry professionals to enquire whether they would advise me on some colour combinations they use. Do test pieces first.
The oil paint tint might not mix properly with the wax and drop to the bottom.	Make sure to heat the oil paint with a little bit of wax first up to a high temperature. Mix in with the rest of the wax well. Do test pieces first.
Wax might not be stored correctly which can affect quality of wax.	Store in a cool, dry place away from dust.
Parts of the cast might break off when taken out of the mould.	Ensure the silicon layer is no thicker than 5/7mm max.
Health and Safety – Hot wax!!	Complete a health and safety assessment before casting. Ensure area is prepared before use and that others know to be careful around it. Plan beforehand. Ensure appliances are turned off afterwards.

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Painting

Problem	Solution
I make the layers of paint on the surface too thick.	Practise painting on the test casts before the final one. Use a dry brush and wipe off excess paint before applying. Take your time and do not rush. Look in mirror and take pictures to keep changing perspectives and
I will use the wrong tones and colours.	Ask industry professional for their advice before painting. Practise by oil painting portraits on flat surface first.
My painting might not look realistic as it might not follow anatomy.	Research anatomy and how light interacts with it. Research the blood vessels etc underneath the skin to understand how they will impact the surface colour.

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Dressing

Problem	Solution
The hair strands I will use might be too thin and fragile, or too thick and synthetic.	Test out a selection of materials before hair punching final. If too thin – try hair spraying and then styling. If too synthetic – try various methods of softening them. Ask MakeUp SFX students to advise on hair choices. Confirm choices with advice from industry professionals.
Hair punch holes might look too big and obvious, particularly around the hairline and facial hair.	Outsource, make and test out different needle sizes before final hair punching. Understand how deep they need to go in to be stable. Experiment whether you can melt the wax after hair punching to increase quality.
Outsourced eyes might not look realistic enough/too doll-like	Have a list of producers you can contact for replacement eyes just in case.
The clothes I will make might not look realistic as the scale of the thread might be out of place.	Research how to recreate clothes at smaller scale. Look at stop-motion animation dressing techniques. Choose a clothing piece from an existing photo – keep choice simple.

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Of course, there are many problems and issues that I will encounter during this project – far too many that I could write! So to manage the sheer variety of problems and to decrease the damage they may have on my time management of the project, I will construct a thorough time plan for the duration of the project. This will ensure that I know exactly how much time I can spend on each mistake and issue, and hopefully keep me on track.

Fingers crossed!

Wax as a Material – What’s the fuss about?

Wax as a material is one of the most respected, and oldest materials from around globe. In fact, in her book Wax as art form, Thelma Newman (1966) describes the ‘story of wax’ to be so ‘colorful and at times so weird that it takes on the aspect of a fairytale.’ (p.12).

While in the UK we may recognise it from the candles on our shelves, and perhaps the Madame Tussaud’s museum, wax actually has a widely rich history. For instance, did you know that in the fifteenth century, wax was used by West Indians on their bodies to keep mosquitoes away (Newman, 1966, p. 13). Or have you ever heard of the ‘Batik’ tradition – a Malayan word for ‘wax writing’ that was practised by noblewoman in Indonesia around the thirteenth century after originating in Egypt. It is a way of ‘drawing a design on fabric with hot wax and then coloring the fabric with water-based dyes’ (Newman, 1966, p. 224) resulting in some beautiful pieces.

Batik in the making.

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Want to find out a little bit more about wax? Check out some of the links below!

National Candle Organisation – If you are curious about the history of the everyday candle.

Encaustic Wax Painting – Tired of acrylic paints? Why not try painting with some tinted beeswax.

History of Batik – A deeper dive into the story of Batik.

Ukrainian Pysanka – Traditional Easter eggs from Eastern Europe decorated using wax

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In terms of painting and sculpture specifically, wax was used in a multitude of ways. Beeswax for instance, the oldest known wax (Newman, 1966, p. 19) was used by Titian to soak the back of his canvases to protect them from damp. It was also quite widely used as a key component of the church candle.

The uses of wax through the centuries can be categorised into a few broad categories.

So why was wax so popular and used for so many purposes? This could be partly due to its qualities which rival that of the versatility of clay. This meant that the material was a tool for creativity, inspiring people to adjust it to their needs.

GOOD TIP! Dirt kills the consistency of wax (Newman, 1966, p. 106) which means it is important to consider the storage of the material between uses.

In addition to these properties, wax also has a notable relationship with the way it interacts with light. Newman describes wax as being ‘very good at transmitting light’ (1966, p. 108). Through this, the viewer is invited to see the sculpture in a more realistic manner. In fact, Newman claims that some artists ‘believed that it was possible for a sculptor to collect light from a given position and… render an equivalence to light yielding emotions akin to the feelings we have when we view a living figure’ (1966, p. 108). It is no surprise then, that wax has been used by some notable artists through history to create models for anatomical study and for aesthetically realistic purposes – through wax they could bring further life to their work.

The funeral effigy of Elizabeth of York, mother of King Henry VIII, 1503, Westminster Abbey

Therefore, I think I want to finish this post by highlighting that wax has a narrative to it. Rich history that embodies creativity of the individual is at the core of how wax has been used by cultures all around the world, and I think this relates quite well to the subject that I would like to recreate in wax form – Edith Kramer. As described in my previous post, Kramer emphasised the benefits of creativity on mental wellbeing, so I quite like the idea that I would be reflecting her practise in the actual material that I will use to make her. I also like how it relates a little to the reason why I chose this project as my closure to my University degree – my own experience of creativity and the way I have slowly explored its benefits in my personal practise.