Student Sculpture

Picasso Sculpture

Pablo Picasso
1881-1973
Early Works
Picasso was recognized as an artistic prodigy at an early age. These works illustrate his technical capability at that stage of his career. However, he was not satisfied with the limited possibilities in such a traditional mode of representation. His constant, incessant striving for new means of expression is the primary lesson of Picasso's art.
Self-Portrait
Blue Period
Shortly after moving to Paris from Barcelona, Picasso began to produce works that were suffused in blue. This particular pigment is effective in conveying a sombre tone. The psychological trigger for these depressing paintings was the suicide of Picasso's friend Casagemas. The Blue Period work is quite sentimental, but we must keep in mind that Picasso was still in his late teens, away from home for the first time, and living in very poor conditions.
Self-Portrait- Blue Period
Rose Period
In 1905-6, Picasso's palette began to lighten considerably, bringing in a distinctive beige or "rose" tone. The subject matter also is less depressing. Here are the first appearances by the circus performers and clowns that will populate Picasso's paintings at various stages through the rest of his long career.
Harlequin Family with ape
Early Cubism
In late 1906, Picasso started to paint in a truly revolutionary manner. Inspired by Cezanne's flattened depiction of space, and working alongside his friend Georges Braque, he began to express space in strongly geometrical terms. These initial efforts at developing this almost sculptural sense of space in painting are the beginnings of Cubism.
Les Demoiselles d’Avignon
Late Works
In the last two decades of his long career, Picasso produced more work than at any other time of his life. During this period, some works are not only dated by month and day, but with a numeral (I, II, III, etc.) indicating multiple works created that single day!
Self Portrait 1972
Picasso Sculptures

Color theory

The visual sensation of the light reflected from the surface of objects.

Primary Colors:
The three basic hues from which all other hues can be theoretically be mixed.
HUE- The color itself

Red
Yellow
Blue

Secondary Colors:
Hues produced by mixing two Primary Colors.

Green
Orange
Violet

Clay Vocabulary

Plastic- soft and pliable.
Leather- not fired, you can still make changes to this art work.
Wedge- to remove the air.
Bisque- first firing.
Slip- a mixture of clay and water used to join clay together.
Kiln- where the clay is fired.
Score- lines to help join the clay together.

Clay Gargoyles

During this period most people were illiterate. The only documentation of the reasoning behind the gargoyles is in the carving itself.

The original legends behind the gargoyles have probably been lost or changed over time.

Hooray for Clay

Tuesday March 4- Clay Gargoyle Lesson
Today we are beginning our clay unit. Here is the information I shared in the PowerPoint presentation. You can view it on my laptop if you missed class or want to see it again.

Many cultures throughout history have created sculptures of fantastic creatures. These gargoyles stir our imaginations, as they stirred the imaginations of the sculptors and carvers who created them.

The word “Gargoyle” shares a root with the word “gargle.” This comes from “gargouille,” an old French word for throat. A true gargoyle is a waterspout. An unusual carved creature that does not serve that purpose is properly called a “Grotesque.”

The most common belief is that gargoyles are protectors. They keep evil away from buildings and their occupants.


The best known examples are from the Medieval period. The carvings served the role of books, telling stories and reporting on life.

During this period most people were illiterate. The only documentation of the reasoning behind the gargoyles is in the carving itself.