Sculpture workshop in progress at Utkal University of Culture in Bhubaneswar. Picture by Ashwinee Pati

Bhubaneswar, May 13: Young sculptors at Utkal University of Culture were given tips to be creative while making portraits, known as portraitures, at a three-day workshop. The camp, held in the department of sculpture, featured eminent artists as resource persons.

Masters in visual arts students of the sculpture department participated the camp where they explored working in different media to create portraitures. Eminent sculptor Rabi Narayan Rath, also the secretary of Odisha Lalit Kala Akademi, was the chief resource person. Rath is acclaimed for his series of over 50 portrait sculptors of eminent personalities of the state.

“The common notion about portrait sculptures that feature just the face of the object or model, is that they are created only with stone. But there are many media that young artists of the state are yet to explore,” said Rath. “So I used clay, paper pulp, fibre and many such elements to demonstrate to the students about working with new medium to create portraits with finesse,” he added.

Dealing with the technical aspect of creating profiles of people into sculptures, specially with clay, the young artists were taught the nuances of clay handling and incorporating fine details in the features of the face they are working with. The 18 students who attended the event were also informed about the treatment and approach towards the medium and the sculpture.

“The workshop would help the budding artists to experiment with their work. Though creating facial sculptures or portrait sculptures are often thought to be the same, it is not so. Creative portraitures need unique approach,” said Anjan Kumar Sahoo, the head of the department of sculpture.

The students were also guided by prominent young sculptors Sheshadeva Rout and Somanath Rout, also alumnus of the varsity. The students created a variety of instant portraitures during the workshop, with the guidance of the resource persons.

“We got to learn new techniques about adding a fine touch to portrait sculptures. Earlier it looked tedious to create a portraiture. But now, we discovered how challenging it is to create a perfect sculpture,” said student Satyabrata Sahoo.

“It was exciting to see how confidently the senior artists get ready to experiment. It was inspiring and I created a couple of experimental sculptures,” said Gitanjali Nath, another student.

The workshop ended today.