In the studio today I focused my attention on sculpting hands and several times throughout the day I was thinking of a great teacher I had and wishing that she were still with us.
Barbara Bradley was a great illustrator, teacher, and author of a book "Drawing People". She was most known for her incredible drawing skills of children. What I learned in her class is immeasurable. Some days we would go outside of our classroom and into another classroom, those of elementary school children to study their behaviors, gesture, and proportions. It was great to sit next to her and watch her draw and listen to the little insights she had of kids. I know without Mrs. Bradley's knowledge I wouldn't have been able to win this commission "Sowing the Seeds". I am applying as much as I can remember from those days long ago and I hope that she is watching from above and smiling.
There are a lot of hands on this life size sculpture and each hand is a challenge. I do not consider hands my strongest talent, I do however realize this and I constantly work on it. Knowing that hands are the second most important part of a great sculpture, next to the face, I have to spend extra time making sure that they get plenty of attention. I was fortunate to have studied with a wonderful teacher back in the academy days as much of what I know about sculpting children was born with this great teacher, Mrs. Bradley.
