Ceramic Sculpture
Sculpture – Three-dimensional works of art created out of a multitude of different media, including stone, wood, metal, and clay by carving, welding, casting, or modeling.
Armature – A skeleton or internal framework often made of wood and wire, designed to support pliable media like clay used by a sculptor to model a sculpture.
Base – Also called plinth. A form or block underneath a sculpture that the sculpture is affixed or mounted on.
Figurative – Something that portrays the human or animal figure, which can be realistic or stylized.
Texture – The element of art that refers to how things feel, or look as if they might feel if touched. Texture is perceived by touch and sight. Objects can have rough or smooth textures with matte or shiny surfaces.
Subtractive technique – Cutting or carving away a material (like wood, or stone) to create a work of art.
Additive technique – Adding material to create a work of art. Modeling, casting, and assembling are considered additive techniques.
Modeling – A sculpture technique that means to shape a pliable material.
Casting – A sculptural technique in which liquid materials (metal, clay, wax, etc.) are shaped by pouring into a mold. The mold is then removed and a copy, or cast, is left in the shape of the mold.
Mold – A frame or cavity to form an object, pattern, or visual concept.
Freestanding sculpture – A three-dimensional work of art (commonly supported by the base) and surrounded on all sides by space. Sculpture often seen “in the round”, meaning sculpting all around it.
Relief sculpture – Three-dimensional artwork on a wall like surface, where the forms are either carved into the level plane or the objects stick outward from the background.