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Bas-Relief: Drawing “Thick”

October 7, 2015/ Dave Messing / Advice & Art Tips, Art Mediums & Product Spotlight / 2 comments

Above are some of my bas-relief sculptures – each sculpture is only about 2 inches thick.

I can imagine that most two dimensional artists from amateur to professional would probably never think of grabbing a hammer and chisel and start beating the snot out of a piece of sandstone or marble. Nor would they dream of slinging clay onto a welded armature and exhausting themselves trying to get it looking good from every angle.

Sculpture is by any standards dirty, dusty, slow and often hurts! Smashed fingers, welding burns and life shortening use of toxic materials – all part of the process.

Bas-relief (pronounced “bas” or “bah”) is Italian for “low relief”. I call it thick drawing and every artist should try it at least once. It’s easier than it has ever been thanks to the wonderful invention of polymer clay. Up until now one needed to use a clay that was fired in an oven or struggle with air-hardening clay which is a total waste of time as it shrinks and cracks as it dries.

Sculpey makes three or four qualities of clay – I recommend you buy a pound of Super Sculpey which is the pinkish softer form of Sculpey. Once you have sculpted your masterpiece Polymer clays need only to be baked at 275 degrees for fifteen minutes. When cool you can carve it, sand it, glue it and even add more clay and re-bake it. One real plus is that Super Glue works on baked Sculpey even as good as it works on your fingers ! So if you break some detail from off of your piece it can easily be permanently repaired in seconds.

So plan a little “thick drawing” in your artistic future. If you are like me you will find a home in the three dimensional, dirty, dusty, slow and often hurtful world of sculpture.