🎧 Birds as Metaphor: A Sculpted Candlestick Sarah Conti

Appears in the April 2024 issue of Ceramics Monthly.

The audio file for this article was produced by the Ceramic Arts Network staff and not read by the author.

Inspiration and Conceptual Grounding 

My practice revolves around building an intimate understanding that climate justice is social justice. Due to their sensitivity to environmental changes, birds are being killed faster and in greater magnitudes than humans by the unavoidable effects of climate change. Similarly, these environmental issues will first impact the most vulnerable humans. My sculptural work references the dangers birds face in the earth’s future; I also use birds metaphorically to discuss historic and contemporary social issues. Throughout my work, I weave in references to art history, feminism, civil rights, immigration, community, and critiques on colonization and capitalism to create a complex image of our present and future. 

While most of what I make is conceptual (and often through a critical lens), I also deeply enjoy making objects that are celebratory of birds and toe the line between sculptural and functional. As a sculptor, I don’t worry about making pieces that are too practical when I dive into the world of function. I have made cups with birds as handles, vessels with birds merged with them/walking through them, and recently I’ve begun making bird candlesticks. Here I’m going to sculpt a lark sparrow candlestick. I use Black Mountain clay by Aardvark Clay & Supplies and Amaco Velvet underglazes.

Sculpting the Forms 

To begin sculpting, make shapes that are used to create the main column of the candlestick. Start with a wide, thick, circular slab to build upon as a stable base. Then roll coils and balls and other rounded shapes (1). I keep these pieces fairly chunky and don’t hollow them out so that the candlesticks have a good amount of weight at the base. For the top piece that will hold the candle, roll a thick coil about one inch in diameter. Round one end where it will attach to the bird’s head. Pat the other end flat. This is the end that will be hollowed to hold the candle. I drape these pieces lightly in plastic to dry slightly. 

Then, sculpt the body of the bird. For this part, I start with two balls of clay, one for the body and one for the head. I use reference photos for the specific species I’m sculpting, but generally, the head ball of clay should be about a third the size of the body ball of clay. To form the body, form the ball into a seed-pod shape by slapping it in between your palms with the heels of your hands close together. For the head, pat the ball on the table or work surface to make a flat spot and then attach that flat spot to the end of the body. I use my thumbs to make eye indents and move the clay from the eye indents down to become cheeks. Then attach a small cone of clay in front of the eye sockets that will be refined with more detail into the beak. 

To make sure the bird will sit nicely on the candlestick base, I push in firmly with my thumb on the belly side of the bird, about two-thirds of the way down the body. This pocket is where the bird will be attached and perch on the candlestick. I then define the breast with my thumbs by pushing a little indent in the middle of the chest (2). Set aside, uncovered, to firm up.

After the bird has set up to be just shy of leather hard, cut it in half to hollow. I make registration marks to ensure proper alignment of the pieces when reattaching. Mark these on the breast using a wire tool, then cut through the breast and hollow out both halves using a simple loop tool (3). 

To piece the two sides back together, dip a serrated rib into water and scratch the surface, following the outline of the body. I don’t use additional slip and find that my clay body doesn’t require it to get a strong connection. After firmly squishing the two sides back together, I use my wood tool I scratch dashes along the seam to knit them together (4). I let this sit so that the moisture of the seam homogenizes with the moisture of the rest of the piece and then, using the flat of my wood tool, I compress and blend the seam. 

Detailing and Piecing Together 

Next, detail the face. Using the rounded end of a paintbrush (anything with a rounded end about the size of your bird-of-choice’s eye) I press in the sockets for the eyes. I use my wood tool to detail the beak (5). Birds’ beaks generally have four facets that make a diamond shape. Use the flat of a wood tool to define these and then use the edge to define the feathers that overlay the beak, the line between the top and bottom of the beak, and the nostrils (6). 

To make the eyes, take a small pinch of clay and cut it in half to get two even-sized balls. Place the balls into the eye sockets and take them back out to adjust the size as needed—I prefer the eyes to be half nestled in the sockets. Then make a very thin coil and wrap it around the eyeball to make the eyelid. Rolling and bending a coil this skinny without cracking is all about maintaining the right moisture content. I usually dampen my table to roll the coil on, then use my trusty wood tool again to blend the outer edge of the coil onto the face of the bird. 

Then I make the wings and tail (7). To make the tail, roll a coil and pinch it flat so it’s about half an inch (1.3 cm) wide. Using my pinky, I pull feathers so that they create a scalloped end at the tip of the tail. Do this by firmly pressing a finger down and repeatedly swiping in the direction of the end of the feather. This takes practice and a good amount of pressure. For the wings, pinch two flat slabs and cut them into a teardrop shape. Pinch the edges so they appear thinner than they are, and then pull feathers, focusing on layering the feathers close together to show the wings are closed. I start with the long flight feathers and then do a few rows of the shorter feathers at the top, rounded portion of the teardrop. 

To attach the tail and wings, I dip my serrated rib into water and score the body, the base of the tail, and the underside of the wings (8). Firmly secure the tail and wings by blending onto the body at the base of the tail and the center, upper part of the wings (9). 

Now that the shapes for the base have firmed up, begin attaching them. I work from the bottom up, attaching the first piece to the base slab and building from there, dipping my serrated rib into water and scoring the surface. I firmly press the parts together and use my wood tool to clean and compress the seam (10). 

Use a loop tool to hollow out the top candle-holder piece (11) and then smooth and compress the interior with a finger. It’s helpful to have a tapered candle nearby to make sure you have made this big enough. I aim for it to be about 15% larger than the candle base so I know it should fit snugly once the piece is fired. 

Next, make and attach the songbird’s toes onto the piece where they’ll be perching. For the toes, I roll small coils that taper at one end to represent the nail (12). Firmly blend the end of the toe that will be under the bird with a finger onto the base. I use my serrated rib, again dipped in water, to score the bird where the bird perches, and the candlestick base just behind the toes, then I firmly press the two pieces together (13). I do the same with the candle holder on the top of the bird’s head while aiming to keep it in line with the lower column of the candlestick (14). 

Firing and Surfacing 

After leaving it in a damp box for a day, I let the candlestick dry slowly. I bisque fire my work to cone 06 and then it’s ready for surface treatment. I start by applying a watered-down layer (about the thickness of whole milk) of white slip. I use a dark clay body because I love how it looks bare, and I love when you can see the richness where the color breaks on ridges. I find that if I paint underglaze directly on the clay body, the dark clay swallows up a lot of the color. Starting with a wash of slip helps the colors to pop. Then I build up layers of color (15), using only five different underglaze colors so that I have to mix them to create a more varied color palette. Relying on my reference photos, I do several thin washes of color that blend together in the second firing to create a more complex surface. After the bird is painted, I go in with a damp, stiff-bristled paint brush to clean up anywhere that the underglaze and slip got on the rest of the candlestick (16). Finally, I fire it to cone 6, and when it is cooled, I sand the bottom and add three felt or rubber dots.

the author Sarah Conti is from Washington state and has lived all over the Pacific Northwest. She is a full-time sculptor currently living in Boise, Idaho. When she’s not in the studio, you can find her gardening, backpacking, and birdwatching.