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Santons: People of the grass: Difference between revisions
→Modeling technique
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[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Santon_(figurine) Santons from Provence] are small, colorful clay figurines that represent the Nativity scene in Christmas cribs (the baby Jesus, the Virgin Mary, and Saint Joseph, with the donkey and ox supposed to warm the child with their breath), the Three Wise Men and the shepherds, as well as a whole series of small figures representing the inhabitants of a Provençal village and their traditional trades. | [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Santon_(figurine) Santons from Provence] are small, colorful clay figurines that represent the Nativity scene in Christmas cribs (the baby Jesus, the Virgin Mary, and Saint Joseph, with the donkey and ox supposed to warm the child with their breath), the Three Wise Men and the shepherds, as well as a whole series of small figures representing the inhabitants of a Provençal village and their traditional trades. | ||
The technique I used to make the insect santons is close to the same as that used for traditional Santons<ref>Santon makers go through seven stages to make a santon. First, they make a model out of raw clay placed on a base that will form part of the figure. Next, they make a plaster mold. The molding is done by pressing a coil of fresh clay into one half of the mold, which has been dusted with talcum powder. After pressing both sides by hand, the excess is trimmed away and the santon is removed from the mold and left to dry. The final manual operation consists of more precise trimming to remove all traces of the mold. The santon is then left to dry again before being fired in a kiln at 800°C. The final step is decoration, which is always done by hand.</ref>, but there are no molds | The technique I used to make the insect santons is close to the same as that used for traditional Santons<ref>Santon makers go through seven stages to make a santon. First, they make a model out of raw clay placed on a base that will form part of the figure. Next, they make a plaster mold. The molding is done by pressing a coil of fresh clay into one half of the mold, which has been dusted with talcum powder. After pressing both sides by hand, the excess is trimmed away and the santon is removed from the mold and left to dry. The final manual operation consists of more precise trimming to remove all traces of the mold. The santon is then left to dry again before being fired in a kiln at 800°C. The final step is decoration, which is always done by hand.</ref>, but there are no molds nor firing: for now they are unique pieces that are sculpted and painted by hand. | ||
In the purpose of a small-scale mass production to use those figurines as a pedagogical tool for entomology initiation, I am now experimenting on molding: plaster molds are not flexible enough for the level of details of arthropods’ anatomy, thus I am working on latex molds to make plaster copies that would be light, robust and convenient to paint by hand. | In the purpose of a small-scale mass production to use those figurines as a pedagogical tool for entomology initiation, I am now experimenting on molding: plaster molds are not flexible enough for the level of details of arthropods’ anatomy, thus I am working on latex molds to make plaster copies that would be light, robust and convenient to paint by hand. | ||