I did not actually think this was possible until I saw it for the first time, then I just had to give it a try.
My first piece was a simple letter V made for my friend Valerie for her birthday:
I broke the lead several times in the process of making this, and was so relieved when it was finally done. There's always that building tension towards the end of the sculpting process as the model gets thinner and more fragile and you don't know when to stop.
My second piece was an X done with a rainbow coloured pencil, also for a friend's birthday:
This one was much easier because the colour pencil lead was soft and could bend a little without shattering. The middle portion of the X actually separated into 2 parts, but because the lead was soft it looked like it was still one piece. The rainbow colour of the lead also meant that both sides of the sculpture boasted different colour schemes.
My third pencil sculpture almost did not get made. I wanted to push limits and make a pair of movable chains. I took 3 months working on this technique, because pencil after pencil broke and I lacked the technical know-how to craft something so intricate.
Eventually I learnt that the 2B pencils I was using were the limiting factor. They may write well, but that is because the lead breaks off the pencil easily onto the paper. What I needed thus was to use the type of lead which made the faintest markings on paper- the strongest kind of pencil lead. I thus switched to HB pencils and it finally became possible to make "Chains".
My first piece was a simple letter V made for my friend Valerie for her birthday:
I broke the lead several times in the process of making this, and was so relieved when it was finally done. There's always that building tension towards the end of the sculpting process as the model gets thinner and more fragile and you don't know when to stop.
My second piece was an X done with a rainbow coloured pencil, also for a friend's birthday:
This one was much easier because the colour pencil lead was soft and could bend a little without shattering. The middle portion of the X actually separated into 2 parts, but because the lead was soft it looked like it was still one piece. The rainbow colour of the lead also meant that both sides of the sculpture boasted different colour schemes.
My third pencil sculpture almost did not get made. I wanted to push limits and make a pair of movable chains. I took 3 months working on this technique, because pencil after pencil broke and I lacked the technical know-how to craft something so intricate.
Eventually I learnt that the 2B pencils I was using were the limiting factor. They may write well, but that is because the lead breaks off the pencil easily onto the paper. What I needed thus was to use the type of lead which made the faintest markings on paper- the strongest kind of pencil lead. I thus switched to HB pencils and it finally became possible to make "Chains".
Nice work :D
ReplyDeleteI also make lead sculprures
You can see my work on www.toldart.com