Clay Experimentation - Riva Cooper Inspired

Whilst I was experimenting with clay, I had a lightbulb moment, and discovered a way to create a realistically shaped/sized face out of clay to work on.

I have this rough plaster cast of my face, which was made last year using strips of plaster bandage to make a mould, which was then filled with plaster.

Here is one that I did on a friend:

Materials

I used the finished plaster cast as a reverse mould. I laid a sheet of clay over the top of it, and pressed it into the plaster cast to make it take shape. Then, I removed the details of the nostrils and mouth with a small clay tool.

The impression of the face was the thing that I would have found most difficult to make by myself, so the mould was very helpful.

Then, I started adding leaves that grew over the entirety of the face (and out of the nose and mouth).

I was using Jess Riva Cooper's art as my inspiration, but without looking at any of her pieces as reference. I took the idea of nature overcoming a face and ran with it.

The result was a face that was completely swamped with leaves.

Once baked, a lot of the leaves fell off. They were very delicate, thin and brittle.

When I returned to hot-glue them back in place, I had the idea of putting the clay pieces I had made to use.

They had also been baked, and so, I started sticking them on piece by piece with the glue gun to create a piece where the face was barely recognisable.

I enjoy the effect.

I am planning to spray-paint it white in order to give it that shine and lustre that Riva Cooper's work has, without using glaze (as I am very inexperienced with it, and fear that I would ruin it).