Clive has sculpted life portraits of people since he can remember, and this gallery presents some of his work in different materials and finishes.

The clay figures are the original sculpted clays from which moulds were made and pieces cast in one of the other materials. One of a variety of glazes is normally applied (matt glaze, gloss glaze, under glaze, slip glaze, all at 1,260 deg. C, or ‘raku’ glaze at 1,000 degrees C) and then the clay is fired. The clay retains all the detail of the original sculpture (because it is the original sculpture) and is an exceptionally beautiful work of art in its own right.

Bronze and aluminium figures are created using the lost wax technique. There are links to some excellent step-by-step explanations and a gallery of photos here which document the main stages of the process in detail.

Casting in glass requires a variation on the Lost Wax technique used for metal. Glass is not an easy material to work with but the ethereal quality of glass and the end result justify the extra complexity.

The plaster of Paris figures are the simplest to make. Fresh plaster mix is poured into the same mould from which the waxes are made, and allowed to harden. The rubber mould is fairly fragile and hardened plaster fairly hard, so each time a plaster cast is taken the quality of the rubber deteriorates slightly. For this reason, plaster casts are normally done only after any waxes required for metal casting have been taken from the mould while it is still pristine.

The speckled plaster portraits are experiments which Clive has done recently. The plaster is coated with a kind of sandy granular material creating a very unusual textured finish.

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