Make three-dimensional work using additive methods such as modelling clay and constructing or assembling, and understand joining, support and building up form

What this dot point is asking

SEAB wants you to make three-dimensional work using methods like modelling and constructing, and to understand the practical side of building a form: how to join, how to support it, and how to build it up. There are a few basic ways to make a sculpture, and each suits different materials and ideas. Knowing them lets you choose a sensible method for your own three-dimensional work and understand how other sculptures were made.

The answer

Modelling: building up (additive)

Modelling is an additive method: you build a form up by adding soft material, most often clay. You can add more, take some away, and reshape as you go, which makes modelling forgiving and good for trying out a form. You push, pinch, smooth and add coils or balls of clay to grow the shape. Because you can keep adjusting, modelling suits learning and experimenting.

Carving: taking away (subtractive)

Carving is the opposite, a subtractive method: you start with a solid block, such as soap, plaster, foam or wood, and cut away material to reveal the form inside. The big difference is that you cannot easily put removed material back, so carving needs planning and care. It teaches commitment, and the marks of the tools can become part of the surface.

Constructing and assembling

Constructing means building a sculpture from separate parts joined together. Assembling (sometimes from found or recycled objects) is a kind of construction where you combine existing things into a new whole. Both are additive in spirit but use rigid parts rather than soft material. Construction lets you make open, airy forms and combine different materials in one piece.

Joining, support and building up

The practical skills tie these methods together:

• Joining: parts are joined by methods suited to the material, glue, tape, wire, slotting parts together, or, for clay, scoring the surfaces and adding slip (watery clay) so they bond. The join must be strong enough to hold.
• Support: tall, thin or heavy forms need help to stand. An armature is an internal skeleton, often of wire, that supports soft material like clay so the form does not sag or collapse while you work.
• Building up: whether modelling or constructing, you usually work from a rough overall form toward the detail, checking the shape from all sides as you go.

Examples in context

Example 1. A modelled clay portrait. A sculptor building a head in clay over a wooden or wire support adds and removes clay to find the likeness, smoothing and reshaping until it is right. It shows modelling's forgiving, additive nature and why an armature is needed to hold the weight of the clay.

Example 2. An assembled sculpture from found objects. An artist combining scrap metal, wood and discarded parts into a new creature shows construction and assembly: the separate pieces are joined with wire, bolts or glue into an open, surprising form. It shows how joining rigid parts builds a sculpture very differently from modelling clay.

Try this

Q1. Explain the difference between modelling and carving. [2 marks]

• Cue. Modelling is additive, building up soft material like clay that you can reshape; carving is subtractive, cutting away from a solid block, which you cannot easily undo.

Q2. Explain what an armature is and why it is used. [2 marks]

• Cue. An armature is an internal support, often of wire, that holds up soft material like clay so a thin or tall form does not sag or collapse while you work.

Q3. Describe how you would join two pieces of clay strongly. [2 marks]

• Cue. Score (scratch) both surfaces and add a little slip (watery clay) before pressing them together, then smooth the join, so the parts bond and do not crack off as they dry.