Maria Saracino

Maria Saracino

Maria Saracino is an award-winning figurative artist whose work has been featured in museums and galleries in Canada and the US. Her whimsical yet realistic characters capture playful candid moments in time. A full-time artist, Maria splits her time between gallery sculptures, commission work and teaching. She teaches privately but also does contract work with the school boards introducing polymer clay to a new generation of clayers. Five brick and mortar galleries represent her work as well as several online galleries. Her Cirque series includes acrobats, contortionists and other performers as well as the Ring Master. Her current Drag Queen series highlights some local celebrities as well as the classics like Dame Edna and Rupaul. Christmas is always a big deal and Santa and the Elves have always been a part of Maria’s repertoire. Each season brings a few new Father Christmas pieces and a very limited series of elves. As president of the National Capital Network of Sculptors she helps promote sculpture and polymer clay as a fine art medium.

How Do You Sculpey? Sculpting with Maria

I love #HowDoYouSculpey! What a great way to learn and share projects and tips and tricks within the Sculpey community. I’m a figurative artist and I use Living Doll and Super Sculpey to create my figures and my portraits. In this blog post, I want to share my creative process, especially when I am working… Continue reading How Do You Sculpey? Sculpting with Maria

Figurative Polymer Clay Basics

It’s been over 25 years since I first discovered Polymer Clay. It was such an “ah-ha” moment for me and I haven’t looked back since. My specialty is figurative work, portrait commissions and Christmas characters like Santa and Elves. My style leans towards realism and I also teach my techniques to aspiring figurative artists. Although… Continue reading Figurative Polymer Clay Basics

Creating Armature That Supports Your Sculpts

In my last blog I gave you a method for creating a simple body armature for an art Doll. Today I want to talk about the armature that supports your sculpt. Let’s start with the obvious. Aluminum foil is without a doubt, indispensable as an armature for any polymer clay artist. It has an expansion… Continue reading Creating Armature That Supports Your Sculpts

Creating Doll Armatures

Happy December! I’m proud to be a Design Squad member and your December blogger. I’m a figurative doll artist and this month I’m going to share a few of my tips and techniques for creating body armatures. Proportion and body armature are important in creating a balanced and realistic figure. There are several methods depending… Continue reading Creating Doll Armatures

Costuming in Clay or Textiles

I hope you are enjoying my blog posts on Figurative Sculpture. I love every aspect of creating my little people, from research and concept development to the actual sculpting, costuming and props. Often, people who are interested in learning what I do, have been put off by the prospect of sewing the outfits. Although it’s… Continue reading Costuming in Clay or Textiles

Sculpting a Figure – Body Proportions

I hope I’ve peaked your interest in figurative sculpture, because today I want to talk about body proportions. As I mentioned last week, I like to sculpt the head first, then use the length of the head to determine the size of the hands and feet. After that I start mapping out the body. At… Continue reading Sculpting a Figure – Body Proportions

Figurative Sculptures and Proportion

As a new member of the Sculpey Design Squad I am very excited to be this month’s blogger and I hope I can bring something new to the community. My name is Maria Saracino and I am a figurative doll artist. My style of sculpting is realistic with an element of whimsy. My sculptures are… Continue reading Figurative Sculptures and Proportion

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