Low Relief Sculpture

Jonathan R. Wright

In a low relief, or bas-relief (basso-relievo), the design projects only slightly from the ground and there is little or no undercutting of outlines. *

The project I wanted dot research was low relief sculpting. The first time I saw a sculpture from it was from some image’s heather showed up in class and I physically saw one of the here samples/test she did at a workshop. That was a about 2 years ago. The topic came back around this semester in her advance book art class. That’s when I knew I was interested in low relief sculpture after she gave us a in class demo.
 
So, I decided to try it out myself. I got a chance to interviewed Tom Balbo a Cleveland native papermaking, ceramics artist and he answered some of my questions to help me get a full understanding on how to sculpt in low relief. Here the conversation:
 
Interview with Tom Balbo:
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Jonathan Wright: What are they best materials to use for low relief sculpting?
 
Tom Balbo:  Cast Ceramics bisque wear, recycled materials, plastics materials, plaster made sculptures, build up sculptures with the laser cutter
 
TB: Avoid glass, raw metals, anything that can oxidizes, raw wood unless it’s really well sealed.
 
JW: What are the best fibers to use for low relief?
 
TB: Cotton with a light beating (1hour), flaxseed, Kozo if you want to go the sculpture route.
 
JW: What are some of the challenges when making low relief sculptures?
 
TB: Make sure it doesn’t have a lot of underbite, don’t over beat fibers it will shrink more. Dry the back of the couched paper. Watch as it slightly damping. weigh it down but not too much weight. Wait a couple of days after you taken off, because paper tend to move or expand if its slightly dampened. Vacuum table I normally empty tank after 1 or 2 casting. Basically, trail and era
 
JW: Who taught you have to make low relief sculptures?
 
TB: I taught myself with low relief, ceramics major casting in plasters mould, and experimenting. Light beating for sculpting compared to the beating for sheets.
 
I failed on my 1st attempt at the low relief sculptures, but with the help of Tom Balbo and Heather Green I can make a better sculpture.

Sources: 
* https://www.britannica.com/art/relief-sculpture#ref161320

image(s) courtsey of:
https://www.quora.com/What-is-the-difference-between-low-relief-and-high-relief-sculpture
 other images by
Jonathan Wright

Interview with Tom Balbo 11/12/18
Tom Balbo website: http://www.balbogalleries.com/