Two heads: Age and Youth
Sculpting from life presents it’s own challenges and of course the result to some extent depends on the model who is posing, but it is up to the artist to interpret what they see. Sometimes Ellen chooses to work on the head only and in these two examples she has managed to give a distinctive character to each.
The tilt of the head, the expression on the faces and the set of the shoulders has been captured in each. The choice of glaze is also important. The matt verdigris finish for the older model and the more polished, with glowing metallic elements, for the younger, work well.
Two Figures: Age and Youth
On other occasions she chooses to sculpt the whole figure and is similarly able to interpret what she sees to produce moving and interesting pieces. The same two models sat again and the older seems marked by experience and expresses resignation while the younger seems to be luxuriating in the hope of things to come.
