The Process of Sculpting

Camille Visser
Mentor: Professor Yun Shin
Department of Art

As a young child, I began sculpting little figurines out of bankable colored clay, and I have favored clay mediums ever since. 

One of my college friends found a manufactured mug online with an octopus on it, and I took up the challenge to create a more three-dimensional octopus cup. 

In creating this ceramic piece, I wanted to make it appear that an octopus was popping out of the cup's sides to dip his tentacles into the drink. Paying attention to detail, I precisely placed clay suction cups on the undersides of the octopus's arms. After the bisque firing, I used special ceramics pencils to draw the octopus's body along the outside of the cup, crafting the illusion that the octopus is trying to break free from the cup.