Observational clay study

I'm I wanted to create an observational clay study in the style of the artists ostinelli & priest. To do this I first selected an animal to work from observation. I decided to use the owl as I thought the feathers and face shape would be challenging but would also allow me to create an expressive piece in the style of my chosen artists. 

I started by making a few observational drawings, I spent three minutes on each drawing using a biro, I drew each angle of the specimen allowing me to create a 360 degree piece. 

Using these drawings I then began to construct the piece from a solid piece of clay. 

I first constructed a sphere out of clay and then began to push in the face in words to give an impression of the hollows in the subjects face. 

Once I had constructed the main part of the face I then added the facial features such as the eyes and beam using a score and slip method. I also texturised the piece in the style of onstinelli and priest following the direction of the subjects feathers I created a rough textured 3D sculpture. 

Once I had texturised the entire head of the animal I then hollowed out the piece to ensure it would not blow in the kiln. 

To improve this piece I could add glazes and colour to the piece in the style of the artist could have used metal oxides to darken the clay piece using similar colours to the artists I was inspired by. 

Once I had finished the piece it was then fired in the kiln. I chose to use white clay as I felt it would look best with the added oxides and glazes the oxides would give my piece a more realistic look as well as giving a good impression of the artists work. 

Ostinelli and Priest are British artists who specialise in texturised ceramic sculptures inspired by nature. 

Their pieces are often if animals and humans in a range of sizes. They use different coloured slips, glazes and oxides to decorate their pieces to highlight the texture they have created.