Practical portfolio, record of work and viva-voce presentation
This domain tests how you document your own practice and defend it aloud: whether your portfolio shows a thinking process, and whether your record and viva answers match the objects you present.
What the portfolio should contain
- A dated sketchbook or journal: thumbnails, annotated studies, proportion diagrams and notes on failures.
- Evidence of research: references to historical works, material tests, colour and texture samples.
- Maquettes and process photographs at each stage - armature, block-in, refinement, mould, cast, finish.
- Final photographs with a scale, showing at least two views and raking light to reveal form.
- A short statement for each piece: intention, material, dimensions, time taken, what changed and why.
The record of work
Log date, material, tools, dimensions, drying or setting times, and problems with their solutions. A record that says 'armature too weak, replaced single wire with a three-strand aluminium core' is worth more than 'worked on sculpture'.
Viva preparation
Be ready to name your tools and materials, explain why you chose a waste rather than a piece mould, describe a fault and its remedy, and justify one composition decision using design terms. Point to the relevant stage in your photographs while you speak.
Worked example
A candidate is asked why the cast's surface is dull. The record shows the mould was damp when poured and the cast was demoulded early. The answer: 'The plaster was mixed 2:1 but the mould had not dried, so the surface absorbed water and stayed chalky. I now dry moulds for 48 hours and seal the cast.' That is a viva answer grounded in evidence.
Traps
Showing only finished pieces; undated pages; claiming a cast was carved; being unable to identify a tool you used; a statement that contradicts the photographs.