Respectful HandsClay and found object
10cm x 18cm March 2016 Respectful hands is a clay sculpture that shows a pair of hands coming together and holding a flower. I decided to show two hands together because I see that as a sign of respect. I tend to associate hands together like this because of Thailand and Buddhism. I was born in Thailand and people would greet others with these hands and a little head bow. In Buddhism, you must greet a monk with these hands to show respect. This sculpture was an additive sculpture and the found object is the yellow flower. Together, the hands and flower show respect and the beauty behind it. |
Meaning
Respect is a sacred value for me because it shows trustworthiness and friendliness. In Thailand, and many other parts of Southeastern Asian, people are greeted with hands pressed together and a little head bow. In Buddhism, it's used to show respect and represents the eight petals of the lotus flower (eight fingers) and the two thumbs represent the principals of reality and wisdom. The lotus represents the pathway to enlightenment. Whenever one approaches a monk, their hands must be together and held at head level. The hands are not fully pressed together, but are a bit cupped to represent a lotus bud. The flower should be a lotus, but those are a bit harder to have access to, so I chose a flower from my garden. I wanted the flower to represent beauty as respect if attractive.
Inspiration I was mainly inspired by Auguste Rodin and his sculptures of hands. I looked at two particular sculptures: The Hand of God and The Cathedral. I really like his hand sculpture because they look very life-like and have lots of details. It seems as if they were made from hand casts. You can see each knuckle, each joint, and the creases. The Hand of God was made from marble and The Cathedral was made from stone.
My hand sculpture was made with clay and went through an additive sculpture. The details are also not as thorough. In comparison, both Auguste and I created the hand sculpture with a religious state of mind. |
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Process
After sketching some thoughts on the sculptures, I got clay and wedged it. It is necessary for clay to be wedged so all the air comes out. Next, I rolled it out, and cut out two palm, eight fingers, two thumbs, and two rectangular pieces for wrists. Using slipping and scoring methods, I put the fingers and thumbs onto the palm and smoothed it out. I made sure to create gaps in-between the fingers and create an even bigger gap between the pointer finger and thumb. Next, I slipped and scored the wrists and smoothed it out. Lastly, I put the hands together. Prior, I slipped and scored the edges of the palm and the tips of the fingers so they would stay together. This was the hardest part, and as clay was still soft and it wouldn't stay the way I wanted it to be. But I was able to make them stand and connect the two wrists. I connected the two wrists so there would be a base for support.
After it dried and everything, I sanded it to make it smooth, and tried to add more depth to the hands to make them more life-like.
After it dried and everything, I sanded it to make it smooth, and tried to add more depth to the hands to make them more life-like.
Reflection
This piece was a bit challenging for me, and I feel like the end product could of been much better. There are still some gaps and cracks that shouldn't be present, and that makes it look bad. I also didn't add much detail to the hands. I was able to sand away a lot of it, so there would be more depth and I had a bit of success with that. I also could of added some clay to where the knuckles would be instead of sanding that part away. If I were to do this again, I would try a subtractive sculpture. If I do it that way, I won't have to worry about putting them together because I would just have to take away the inside.
- Rodin, Auguste. "The Hand of God" Musee Rodin 1896. Web. March-May 2016. <http://www.musee-rodin.fr/en/collections/sculptures/cathedral>
- Rodin, Auguste. "The Cathedral" Musee Rodin 1908. Web. March-May 2016. < http://www.musee-rodin.fr/en/collections/sculptures/cathedral>