Artist Shares How He Sculpts Realistic Clay Figurines of Celebrities and Pop Culture Icons

Polymer Clay Figurines of Celebrities

A sculptor known simply as Jay is recreating some of the world’s biggest stars through polymer clay. Through his studio Artisan Store, he crafts small figurines of celebrities including Lionel Messi, Chris Hemsworth, Kim Kardashian, Ariana Grande, and many more. Each piece contains an incredible level of detail rendered on a small scale; Jay conveys the fine facial features of these famous folks and gets so granular that he sculpts strands of hair and clothing seams.

Jay offers insight into his process through timelapse videos. One popular piece is a sculpture of Khaby Lame, a Senegalese social media star known for his silent mocking of overly complex lifehack videos. To begin the work of art, Jay starts with a hunk of clay and then uses sculpting tools to develop and articulate Lame’s features—most notably, his signature smirk. After completing Lame’s face, he then sculpts the figure’s body which includes another signature of the star: the “look, see” way Lame holds his hands in his videos.

Scroll down to watch Jay work. If you want one of his figures for yourself, custom sculptures are available in the Artisan Store.

A sculptor known simply as Jay is recreating some of the world’s biggest stars through polymer clay.

Through his studio Artisan Store, he crafts small figurines of celebrities and characters from pop culture.

He shares his process in mesmerizing videos.

Jay's subjects span soccer players like Lionel Messi…

…to social media stars like Kim Kardashian and Khaby Lame.

 

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A post shared by JAY (@clayartisanjay)

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by JAY (@clayartisanjay)


Artisan Store: Website | Instagram | YouTube | TikTok
h/t: [Reddit]

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Sara Barnes

Sara Barnes is a Staff Editor at My Modern Met and Manager of My Modern Met Store. She is a graduate of the Maryland Institute College of Art where she earned her BFA in Illustration and MFA in Illustration Practice. Sara is also an embroidery illustrator and writer living in Seattle, Washington. She runs Bear&Bean, a studio where she stitches pet portraits and other beloved creatures. She chronicles the creativity of others through her website Brown Paper Bag and newsletter, Orts. Her latest book is Threads of Treasure: How to Make, Mend, and Find Meaning Through Thread, published in 2014. Sara’s work has been recognized in Be Creative With Workbox, Embroidery Magazine, American Illustration, on Iron and Wine’s album Beast Epic, among others. When she’s not stitching or writing, Sara enjoys planning things that bring together the craft community. She is the co-founder of Camp Craftaway, a day camp for crafty adults with hands-on workshops in the Seattle area.
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