Working in a larger scale has been an idea rattling around in my head for quite some time. The journey that brought me to the completion of my first 3/4 life-size piece has been an exciting and wonderful one.

Although the logistics of working so much larger was intimidating at first, I am extremely pleased with the result. When I concluded that the size of my kiln would not accommodate a sculpture with these dimensions I found information on the subject of large scale work coming to my attention at a rapid pace. Works by artists such as Viola Frey, Mavis McClure and Gena Fowler helped me decide on this approach. The figure is hand built using slabs of various dimensions, all roughly 1/4 inch thick. It was built from the bottom (literally) up and once a section was completed there were only minor adjustments made to the form. This is very different from the technique I use to sculpt smaller pieces in which I add and subtract the clay continually throughout the process. I found myself focusing more on the feeling of the figure rather than the anatomy which was very satisfying.

Once the figure was completed I divided her into 3 sections small enough to handle as well as safely fit into my kiln. There is a clay sleeve on the inside of each section which allows one piece to easily slide into the next. I could have made the seams cleaner and certainly less visible but I chose not to. I really love that they are so obvious and primitive looking. I rakued each section individually . Since the colors vary so greatly with raku, once I was done firing I blended the colors between the sections together using paint that I glazed on in layers.