View Larger Image "Angle Iron," 23.5 inches (60 centimeters) in height, slab-constructed terra cotta, fired in oxidation, by Lynn Duryea.

January 30, 2008

Tar-Paper Molds

by Glen R. Brown | Read Comments (0)

Artist Lynn Duryea constructs her sculptures essentially as large vessels, some of which are sealed. "I've always been very interested in industrial forms," she says. "They are most intriguing to me when they evoke certain associations but are not exact representations of anything. I want to suggest tools or mechanical elements while not referring to any object too specifically."

The precision necessary to evoke mechanical form is a characteristic that Duryea achieves in her earthenware sculptures with the aid of tar paper, a heavy-duty paper used in construction (roofing felt is one type of tar paper). Possessing a level of ductability comparable to that of a clay slab, tar paper is an excellent material during the creative design process while testing potential compositions. It can be bent and stapled to produce cylinders or cones in a rapid approximation of the structures of a finished piece. Her tar-paper configurations serve as three-dimensional substitutes for sketches.

Moreover, the tar-paper forms can be disassembled and laid flat as templates for cutting slabs to the desired shapes. They can then be reassembled and used as hump molds to aid in bending the slabs to precise curves. When Duryea is producing especially heavy forms, she generally reinforces the molds by gluing their bases to boards and stuffing them with crumpled newspaper.

According to Duryea, "The tar paper works fine as a mold for pieces up to about a foot in height. With anything bigger, it's necessary to give it extra strength." For even heavier work, she sometimes creates plaster press molds from positive forms produced by bending linoleum.