Steel armature with spray foam.
After fashioning the steel armature, the next step is to mass-on the major skeletal volumes – skull, rib cage, and pelvis. This is the standard procedure in our écorché classes as well, where the volumes are cut from proportionally accurate clay blocks. In this case, however, the volumes are made from spray foam, and are crudely cut – more to fill up the interior space and reduce the weight of the sculpture than to accurately describe the skeletal volumes. That part comes later. Consequently, these forms are substantially smaller than normal to ensure they stay well under the surface and will be built up with clay as the sculpture progresses.
Also, the limbs are wrapped with 1/8 inch armature wire to give the clay more grab on the metal. The wire is extended down past the arms to form "hands" that will support for the metacarpals and phalanges.
