Tony Natsoulas creates colorful, lively, humorous, and larger than life exaggerated ceramic busts and life-size sculptures of people that have inspired him. From a series of 18th century people (Natsoulas loves the outrageous colors and attitudes of that era), to gigantic busts of his friends interacting, his series are constantly changing. His life-size characters are between 5 feet 8 inches to 6 feet tall and his ceramic busts stand three to four feet tall, towering six to seven feet tall once completed and on their pedestals. The ceramic medium is very difficult to work with on a large scale, so it is rare for a ceramist to work in the scale that Natsoulas does. A well-known sculptor from the "California funk" tradition inspired Natsoulas. Natsoulas originally started sculpting to work out his feelings and thoughts in clay based on social issues, phobias and struggles. Today, absurd television shows, people, commercials, toys, cartoons, plays and nostalgic movies inspire Natsoulas. Natsoulas sculpts slabs of clay by hand, building them over a week's time. Natsoulas creates a three-foot bust standing about six feet on its pedestal. Each body part will be sculpted separately and will remain its own piece so it can be handled easily, until they are ready to be assembled. After they are built in the rough, he'll sculpt the details and allow to dry. The pieces of the sculpture are placed in the kiln and fired for three days, glazed, and put back in the kiln for a final firing. The final result is most impressive.
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