How To Sculpt In Clay – The S- Curve In a Pose

About Adam Reader

Adam Reeder was born and raised in Los Angeles California.  He was heavily influenced by the positive southern California culture and climate.  He started drawing when he was 14 and has been sculpting for 12 years.  Adam earned a Masters degree in sculpture in 2009.  Though Adam learned a lot in his 3 years of graduate school, he claims to have learned more in a 5 day period at a workshop from his favorite living sculptor.

He believes in what Richard Mac Donald taught him “I will teach you everything I know, then what you do with it is up to you”.

Adam’s work has been featured in dozens of editorials online and in print all over the world. Adam has also exhibited internationally and has work in a prominent north western Museum.

Adam maintains that he learns all he can about form and anatomy.  When asked about learning Adam said “I learn form everyone, that way I will never stop learning”.  He say that he sculpts what he feels, drawing upon the knowledge of anatomy and form to create art.  He says he knows he is done with a sculpture when it resonates with the feeling that drove him to create it.

Adam’s Websites:

www.adamreeder.com

How To Sculpt In Clay – The S- Curve In a Pose

The S curve on a sculpture or drawing is the fundamental gestural element.  The more severe the S curve, the more gesture the figure will have.   The S curve forms when the rib cage, skull, and pelvis are moved into positions not parallel to one another.

For instance, when a standing figure takes most of the weight of the body on one leg, the pelvis on the leg no bearing weight drops.  This causes the sacrum of the spine to not be perpendicular.  That is the genesis of the S curve in the pose shown in this video.

Now that the sacrum of the spine is tilted, the spine must compensate to keep the skull above the weight bearing leg.  This causes the rib cage to tilt, but in order for the head to remain horizontal, the skull must tilt.  So you have a tilt of the pelvis, rib cage, and skull all to make up for the change in weight bearing leg.

So if a person switches from one leg to the other, you can watch the shoulders and skull move to compensate to keep the skull positioned over the weight-bearing limb.

When you watch a dancer move, even if they are not dancing, these positions are exaggerated.

This ballet has pelvis, skull, and ribcage all on a horizontal orientation.  However, look how many S curves are visible in this pose.  In the right foot and lower leg alone there is one S curve.  The left leg has two S curves, one from the front view and one from this view (two “S” shapes are drawn in to illustrate the corresponding leg’s curve).

Over ten years ago, a sculptor whom I admired greatly was trying to teach me a lesson about gesture, and the importance of the S curve.

He picked up to pieces of clay and sculpted two Salamanders, handed them to me and asked, “which one looks alive to you?”.