India? anybody?

[Spideristic]

I am from India, fellow collector though currently more of an admirer of statues as I can't afford them.

Been wanting to try my hand at sculpting, but I am not sure if the needed materials are readily available in my town in Mangalore. But I am guessing Bangalore would have better options.

I had a friend who studied at the Karnataka Chitrakala Parishath of Fine Arts in Bangalore, though he was more into illustration he told me they had various forms of sculpting classes there, so materials should be available more locally there.

[barneyjoseph]

Welcome budhi Hope to see your works soon! Where in India are you from or are at present?

[barneyjoseph]

Originally Posted by Spideristic

Been wanting to try my hand at sculpting, but I am not sure if the needed materials are readily available in my town in Mangalore. But I am guessing Bangalore would have better options.

I had a friend who studied at the Karnataka Chitrakala Parishath of Fine Arts in Bangalore,....

Hi Spideristic,

Nice to meet you! What kind of sculpting materials are you looking for? Are you looking for the mediun, i.e., clay or are you looking for the tools?

As far as tools are concerned... a few are available on Avenue Road in Bangalore. Mud clay is available in different parts of Bangalore, especially at Pottery Town in Bangalore. You should be able to get potter's clay in Mangalore itself!

As for Chitrakala Parishad... I had enquired at their college... their sculpting course is one subject in one semester of a 3/4 year course. I've seen most of them sculpt in stone and terracotta/mud clay.

They clay that most people use on this forum is not mud clay exactly. Some use polymer clays (eg: Super Sculpey, Kato Clay, Proto Clay, etc), some use plastelline clay/oil based clay(Chavant, Castelle, etc), and some use wax( I have no idea about this, but they seem to make their own by melting together crayon wax, beeswax and other types)

All of the above fake clays mentioned other than Proto Clay are NOT AVAILABLE in India as far as I have searched. I get them from ebay or from friends/family who travel to other countries. Proto clay is available at Staples in Bangalore but is not properly stocked in colours. I have made some figures out of one colour and just painted over them after baking.

Hope this helps Share your work online sometime

[supahman]

Hey guys.. m from pune.. currently working in Sg..
just collecting.. currently.. Never been classically trained for anythign artistic.. I do sketch though..
Avi makes us proud though.. some really gr8 Stuff !

[Spideristic]

Thanks for all the details barneyjoseph, appreciate it .

I was indeed wondering about tools and considering Super Sculpey. Next time I am in B'lore, will check out Avenue Road for the tools including Proto clay at Staples.

And yes I realized materials like Super Sculpey needs to be acquired by someone who is traveling back to India from abroad, as shipping through ebay sellers may not work out due to restrictions from customs for chemical based products.

- Vivek

[barneyjoseph]

Originally Posted by Spideristic

Thanks for all the details barneyjoseph, appreciate it .

I was indeed wondering about tools and considering Super Sculpey. Next time I am in B'lore, will check out Avenue Road for the tools including Proto clay at Staples.

And yes I realized materials like Super Sculpey needs to be acquired by someone who is traveling back to India from abroad, as shipping through ebay sellers may not work out due to restrictions from customs for chemical based products.

- Vivek

I forgot to mention something about Proto Clay... It is hard and even after conditioning it tends to remain hard. Any tool used on it leaves an impression and it is very hard to remove the marks. Alcohol does not soften the clay. The only way to remove the marks is to press with your own finger but that distorts the shape itself. I mostly at this point restart the shape. Since they do not become soft as Super sculpey, joins would be difficult. Check out my Facebook albums... they are filled with Proto Clay dolls. Notice the joins, some of them will still have dents and marks that I couldn't remove. Need to have patience with this!

All the best!

[edit]
On Avenue Road... look for Bhaskar Arts. That's where you get the tools!

[barneyjoseph]

Originally Posted by supahman

I do sketch though..

Welcome supahman... so you sketch... do you have a deviantart profile? post your work there

Check mine out.... bad-j.deviantart.com
It's mostly filled with clay pictures. Will be getting back to the drawing tablet soon

[supahman]

Here's mine.. not a lot has been put up..
unfortunately, these days it's just sketchign while i'm on conference calls..
i did pick up some air hardening clay once.. u can see the funny results..

http://zupahman.deviantart.com/

Batman n Simba look pretty cool.. it's sad that the lack of material is what is limiting the talent.

[barneyjoseph]

@supahman: Nice to see your work online. Just keep at it and then "yuvarepro"

[Spideristic]

Originally Posted by barneyjoseph

I forgot to mention something about Proto Clay... It is hard and even after conditioning it tends to remain hard. Any tool used on it leaves an impression and it is very hard to remove the marks. Alcohol does not soften the clay. The only way to remove the marks is to press with your own finger but that distorts the shape itself. I mostly at this point restart the shape. Since they do not become soft as Super sculpey, joins would be difficult. Check out my Facebook albums... they are filled with Proto Clay dolls. Notice the joins, some of them will still have dents and marks that I couldn't remove. Need to have patience with this!

All the best!

[edit]
On Avenue Road... look for Bhaskar Arts. That's where you get the tools!

Thanks for all the advice Barney. Hope to implement them in the future when I get to sculpting.

Nice work on the painted Simba and that Batman statue is coming out good. Looking forward to its progress.