The problem I was faced with last summer was that I needed a very short model for a very large coat for something I wanted to draw, so I could
get the drapery of the coat right. It proved immensely difficult to find a coat that would be large enough on me to simulate this, so I took it
upon myself to build a model. I got a largish coat on ebay for about twenty bucks, bought a ton of rod and flux from Etox, and set to work.

Using these materials:



I constructed a base:




Which grew:






Then I added a head:



And made finishing touches all over the frame, yeilding, at last, a monstrosity I have affectionately dubbed "R-Karen (Mark I)"


Now, this is extremely fragile and lightweight. It can only bend a limb a few times before it snaps and I have to rebraize it. As a matter
of fact, one of the knees broke last night and I haven't yet rebraized it. So I've been pondering for some time how I might make a new one,
and it seems that welding is the answer.

The new model would need several added features. The first and most obvious is added stability. It would be made out of much hardier stuff
and, instead of having pliable metal for the joints, it would, hopefully, be made with actual ball and pivot joints forming the limbs, with
a vise grip like clamps on them like a large desk lamp so it could hold poses. The second feature, and the more important one for the
purpose of relating it to this sculpture class, is that of a fuller and more realistic volumetric approximation of the human form. With the
current model I must resort to using tennis balls to simulate the shoulders and the important parts of the arms. A neural net will likely
have to wait until the third model, unfortunately :)

To build this new model using the projects in this class as a framework, I would build major sections of the figure in the various styles
used in the projects and then assemble them at the end, Voltron-esque. Even though all of the projects would have extra things welded to
them at the end of the semester, when I first make them they should be only at worst only slightly different from what everyone else is
doing. This is a practical and utilitarian venture for me, but I also consider the human form to be the most beautiful thing in the world
and I will, I assure you, be approaching this with a very serious artistic approach. My proposition is as follows:

Project 1
The Head
I would devise a cardboard mockup using the current head piece of the model as a reference and construct a head in the same style as these
stuffed animals. The reason I asked about paint was because my first notion was to construct the torso in that style, but the paint would
be a wasted effort there as for practicality, and I would likely have to reweld in areas when I returned to attach limbs in later stages,
making it inconvenient. If I do the head in the stuffed animal style, though, that's great because it uses less steel, it's the least
important part of the entire model so it's a good one for me to cut my teeth on, and I'll be doing the least welding with this one after
it's done. If it is important that a "stuffed" style be maintained in the painting, I can pretend it's a ragdoll head and paint it like
that, it makes little difference to me.
Project 2
The Torso
I would select as my "shape from nature" the human torso, or more specifically the human ribcage and pelvis. This would be a two-part
venture, with a multisegmented spine eventually joining the two parts. I would preserve the general shape of a real torso but be liberally
artistic in how and where I use the rod. If it is important that the purity of the rod construction method be preserved for reasons
relating to learning about using rod in sculpture, I could simply turn in the two parts seperately and wait until the final phase to join
them together.
Project 3
Would proceed as normal, since anything connected with this figure would be by definition anything but nonobjective.
Project 4

The Final Sweep
Throughout the semester I will have amassed the various joints I'll need to construct the limbs and worked out precisely how I'll make
everything fit together. They will, I imagine, be made primarily with rod, with pieces of scrap sheet metal placed where a more concrete
form is needed. I can explore the texture as much as you want me to in this provided that the posability of the figure is not compromised.
I can't see this being difficult for me to pull off any more than how difficult the project would normally be, particularly because in this
arrangement, completion of the project will not be just for a grade or for practice, it would be personal.

If your answer is yes, I'll make the head mockup tonight and show you at some point before 3:00 tomorrow so I can get in there and start
cutting and welding first thing.