'I would wish my portraits to be of the people, not like them. Not having the look of the sitter, being them.' Lucian Freud
reconstruction courses;
on this page,
course 1; Reconstruction as portrait
course 2; Forensic reconstruction
course 3; Charles Byrne
course 4; Elderly female
course 5; New course; Anatomical portrait in clay.
booking, dates and venues here
course1; Reconstruction as portrait This course offers the student a unique opportunity to reconstruct a human face from the skull to skin. The course runs over 4 days and is the perfect starting point for anyone interested in gaining first hand knowledge and direct experience of building the delicate infrastructure of muscles, fats and other forms that underpin the human face. You will use realistic prosthetic eyes, molded ears, and techniques for producing detailed skin textures. (course 1 details here) course 2; Forensic reconstruction Within this course students follow forensic methods to apply depth markers to the skull according to body mass and gender. We then add muscles, fats and skin to create a representation of the individual with reference to the research information. We also discuss the pros and cons of the method,, different models, look at historical and the most recent reconstructions; where it may be most appropriate, and whether other methods may be called for. Each student will produce an extensive portfolio of drawings and photos that chart their progress, they will also have the build/reconstruction itself to keep. (course 2 details here) |
|
course 3; Charles Byrne The skeleton of Charles Byrne, the 'Irish giant' , (1761–1783) is held at the Hunterian Museum, London. I recently had the opportunity to study his skull in detail, and created a copy of his skull from drawings, photos and 3d scans. The skull is extraordinary in its size and features, and a cast will be made available to students on the course. This is an advanced course, and we will use wax to create the reconstruction (as seen opposite). As with the other courses, students keep their reconstruction, and can have it cast or re-work it at a later date. course 3 details here course 4; Elderly female This course is an opportunity to study in depth the effects of ageing on the skull and how it affects the landscape of the face. In its own way this build is as fascinating as Charles Byrne, and as challenging. Not only is there significant bone loss to the mandible and frontal facial plane, there is an amazing opportunity to recreate skin textures showing the effects of advanced age. This is a subtle and delicate reconstruction, the muscles thin and ribbon like, facial fat is reduced and the skin surface heavily wrinkled and distorted by the fragile mandible. course 4 details here booking, dates and venues here Student feedback from previous courses here. New course, Clay construction In this course students have the opportunity to work entirely in clay. The initial skull is press moulded hollow, then the structures of muscles and fats are added out to the skin. We have a choice of african or european skulls, each having their unique shape and qualities. The completed pieces are then fired to 1080' creating a permanent sculpture. more details here |
|
© Alan Stott 2015