The Tentacles Multiply

 As you saw in my last post, I started playing around with tentacles.  Of course, these squirmy extensions have to be attached to something.

My first idea was to build a base that would hold a vase or glass orb, with the tentacles reaching up and grasping it, pulling it down towards the base, which would be sculpted as a cephalopod's beak.  Sorry for the photos, these were work in progress pictures I quickly snapped for some friends with my phone camera, of all things.

The more I worked with the clay and the design, the more I realized that this might not work out for this project.  There are several reasons: I am attempting to use Super Sculpey for the first time to test it's integrity and strength in this type of a sculpture.  That being said, this nude/translucent color is not going to remain for this project.  I plan to paint the sculpture multiple times and really get some detail into the tentacles and suckers. That cannot happen with a vase in place.  The vase would need to be baked with the sculpture, then very meticulously painted around, if at all. 

Another issue is that SS gets very soft the longer you work with it.  My tentacles kept falling down or bending in directions that I did not want, despite the armature supports.  So, the vase did play an important role, holding the sculpture in place while I worked with it in stages.  This issue was quickly resolved when I baked it.

Check back to see it baked and painted!  And see what my next plans for this piece will be...