Plaster bust: Aviatrix

My latest plaster bust has landed! And in looking for a title I discovered a word I had never heard before - apparently a female aviator is known as an aviatrix.
Which seemed the most fitting name for someone with an aeroplane on their headdress!



The style references are 20th century post-war - as in Demoiselle D








The silhouette is very angular and quite stark, typical of 1940s costume. I purposefully emphasised the asymmetry by letting her headdress almost cantilever from her head on one side. I like the un-balance of the form.


First look when the mould is peeled back from the sculpture



The collar was a challenge but I knew without it the sculpture would be less interesting



In the event it turned out fine and wasn't too fragile (which I had been worried about). The way the collar half conceals the face makes the figure more real I think and gives an air of mystery.






























































I like the way the folds in the fabric of the headdress look so sculptural and solid - and I like the contrast of the plain, matt surface with the texture and pattern of the back of the costume.




















It's nearly a year since I started my plaster bust collection - I found the first of the template busts which I use for the head and face at a Depot Vente in Caen, Normandy last January. I wonder where the ideas behind this collection will take me in 2011 - looking forward to getting back to my studio to start finding out!

Thanks to all my blog subscribers and visitors for taking the time to follow the development of my work - I'm very glad if people have found something of interest in the back-story I'm revealing here. It's fascinating to see how many countries my visitors come from - a lot!

I can't believe I've written 72 posts since I started the blog about 15 months ago. It's been great to have an outlet for my ideas and has really made me focus my thinking - visual and conceptual.