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bethbarnardart

The Art of Cost Cutting

One thing I’m learning about sculpting is that it’s a much more expensive endeavor than I’d ever imagined, so as I enter the pre-retirement phase of my life, I’m starting to think about how I can begin to cut financial corners. I’ll still be doing figurative work that will need to be done with armatures and with a type of clay that cannot be fired, so the figurative work will still need to have molds made and will need to be cast, but…


As you can see from the image above, I’m firing some sculptures from home, using water based white stoneware clay that can be hung on the wall. That saves money in a number of ways, as there is no need for an armature, no need to make a mold (which is expensive to make yourself and REALLY expensive to have someone else make.) Once painted and refired, the piece is finished, so there is no need to get it cast in expensive mediums like resin or bronze. The pieces will be one of a kind, and will be able to be offered at a lower price point to the buyer, so in a way, everyone wins.


I’ve also spent some time over the last few months learning how to create plaster casts that can be hung on the wall, thanks to Aubrey Charnell, a Chattanooga sculptor. She used to work at a job making plaster casts while attending Florence Academy of Art, and she proved to be a good teacher. As I watched her demonstrate the plaster

casting technique, she helped me learn to make the plaster “as thick as a double stuffed Oreo cookie” as it’s painted inside the mold and as a hanger is applied. Here is the initial plaster cast of one of my sculptures (minus the added braids.)



And this is the plaster cast after it is painted and hanging up for sale at 100 Taylor Gallery:



Also at 100 Taylor is a White Stoneware Woodland Nymph wall hanging, just waiting for you.



I’ll keep this blog short and stay on the topic, but

before summer slowly slips away, let me post a few memories from summer walks with family and friends to remind us all of the beauty that surrounds our lives everyday.



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