Introducing Mr. Salt

For this project, each student was supposed to pick out a work of 2D art and make it into a 3D sculpture. I chose the Japanese print "Segawa Kichiji III as Murasame" by Katsukawa Shunsho, 1773. As was the tradition in the kabuki and Elizabethan (Shakespearean) theatres, all parts were played by men. This particular print Kichiji III is playing the part of a young Japanese woman performing the "shiokumi" or the "salt-extraction" dance. Thus the name Mr. Salt.

He is completely hand built and about to be completed. I still have to finish the base of his kimono and make a couple of decisions regarding final props. In the print his character is carrying 2 water buckets hanging from a pole over his shoulder held by a very thin wrist which is difficult to achieve by using clay, so other materials may need to be incorporated. I will have to keep you in suspense, because due to the nature of the material he will not be dry enough to bisque before the end of this semester and will have to be completed in the fall.

As for the summer, it should be filled with bowls, sculptures and paintings to keep things interesting.  And will include a second blog for my Empty Bowls challenge. Check it out at my 100 Empty Bowls blog.