Signing and dating your finished works is absolutely imperative. It's a non-negotiable requirement! Trust me...as a Vintage Custom collector, I can tell you undeniably this is so. Sign your work! But how to do that? This is an important question because our signatures should be as archival as the materials and techniques we used to create the piece itself because they have to travel down the timeline intact, too. Indeed, your signature will speak for you long after you're gone so make sure it can do that loudly and clearly.
To that end then, there are four basic ways to sign your work. Inscribing the clay, with a maker's mark stamp, with a pen, and with paint.
When it comes to sculpture, especially when considering casting, it's critical to inscribe your signature into the production master. You can do this in one of two ways. First, you can dremel your signature into your hard original with a fine-pointed bit. You need a very steady hand though and you've got to wear all PPE and follow manufacturer recommendations, of course. Second, you can inscribe your signature right into the fresh clay with a pointed tool. Now what I like to do is get my waste casting back from the caster then I dremel out divots to hold fresh epoxy clay into which I inscribe my signature and date, stamp in my maker's mark and, in the case of medallions, inscribe in the title of the work. Then when the epoxy clay is cured, I sand it all flush. This way my inscriptions are clear for the actual production castings. I usually inscribe all this along the side of the medallion, too, rather than the back in case the caster opts for an open-back mold.
The cost of maker's marks has come down considerably with the advent of 3D printing. It used to be that the only way you could get a durable one was in die-cast steel costing a pretty penny, typically made for jewelers, knife-makers, or farriers to hammer-smack their mark into metal. For instance, the quarter-inch mark for my logo cost nearly $200. However, prices have come down considerably today for a metal stamp and it will last you a lifetime and remain clean and sharp. Nowadays though, you can opt to have a custom maker's mark 3D printed out for even cheaper and in half the time making it a super alternative. Now you can get your entire signature done up or only your initials or just your studio logo (like I did). And the added benefits of a maker's mark is that it's a bit more discreet, it's harder to futz with, and it doesn't reproduce well in recasting, helping to guard against counterfeits. Just be sure to gently clean your stamp well after each use so clay doesn't build up on it to distort the imprint. Often times, a soft brush and rubbing alcohol works well for this cleaning whether the imprint was made in oil, polymer, epoxy, or ceramic clay.
Now pens are another matter entirely. Foremost in our concern here is choosing a pen that prints with pigments rather than dyes (like Sharpies). You see, dyes fade or discolor over time whereas pigments tend to remain inert. For a fuller exploration of suitable pens read this blog post, Which Pens To Use On Polymer Clay-A Comparison at the Blue Bottle Tree. There are also metallic pens in gold, silver, rose gold, and copper, which can work well, too, but use them as a fine nib for precision and make sure they're compatible with your materials and dry quickly. The benefits to signing with a pen are ease, control, precision, and the ability to impart your actual handwriting for a nice personal touch. However, most sealing sprays or varnishes will cause pens to bleed or run so if you go this route seal spray your piece first then sign it with a pen after its thorough dry.
The last way to sign your work is with a fine brush and paint. Use a round brush with a fine point and with longish bristles, not short bristles. That way it'll hold a good reservoir of paint while also creating a precise line. It's a delicate balance with the length of the bristles though...too short and you'll have to reload your brush too often but too long and you lose control. So experiment with different brushes then once you find The Brush, keep it as a dedicated signature brush. The paint should be thinned for easy flowing, too, so that's another Goldilock's Zone that asks for more experimentation. In short, it takes some practice, but with a bit of trying, you got this. The key thing to remember in this is to sign with a paint that will stick over time, so no signing with acrylic over oils, for instance. In other words, opt to sign acrylic over acrylic or oil over oil. It's also important to sign with a contrasting color so the signature is readable and clear. So don't sign with brown paint on a bay horse, for example. Use black, white, red, or light blue or some such standout hue. Also sign with a quality paint, not a cheap craft paint, for archival reasons. But the benefit to signing with paint is that it's adaptable, archival, and cohesive, all major considerations. One thing though, if you're signing with paint, be sure to do so before your final sealing spray. That painted signature should be seal sprayed, too, remember.
Now as for your signature itself, you can sign your actual name, with initials, or with a stylized signature, it's up to you. Just make sure it's distinctive, clear, consistent, and uniquely yours so it cannot be confused with another signature. In a sense, the more you can "brand" your signature, the better. To that end, a couple of artists even turned their signature into a distinctive symbol located on the body proper, often the hindquarter. For example, Sue Guffey used a "G" with a little bar underneath it encased in a box to mark her horses often on the hinder or inner groin, her "box bar G" mark. For another example, for a time Thomas Bainbridge marked his horses with his stylized initials on the hindquarter with a little triangle for his Triangle Productions studio. Some artists even used a little picture as their mark rather than their name. For instance, the creative team of Linda Watson-McCormick and Karen Caldwell often used a little handdrawn remarque of a chameleon for their Chameleon Productions collaborations. There’s a few possibilities then so put some thought into it.
Also think about adding a date of creation. It can be as basic as the year the piece was finished, or it could spell out the full date, again that's up to you. But believe it or not, having a date on there is pretty important for providence. Trust me, as a VCM collector, a date can make all the difference!
Now some artists keep detailed logs that record each of their creations, often with a corresponding numbering system that's also indicated in their signature. For example, Lee Francis always included the recorded number of the finished piece with her signature. Lynn Fraley also did this as well on her customs. This is often a nifty detail to add if that's what you do, too.
As for the location of that signature and date, the sternum and belly tend to be the most common locations. However, some artists place their signature on the inner groin (like Colleen Fleury), on the bottom of a hoof (like Nancy Strowger), or even on the inner hinder (like Sue Guffey). I've even see a signature on a discreet place on a sculpted tail. But as discreet as we want to keep our signature, make sure it's still find-able. Indeed, having a signature that's too obscured can be a real problem over time. We shouldn't have to hunt to find it so claim that puppy as yours, obviously and easily!
So that's the basics! Again, it’s excruciatingly important to sign and date your work. Not only is it important to own your work, but intact providence is critical for our timeline. Now yes, real horses don’t have signatures on them, if that’s a concern. But believe me when I tell you that the unrealistic touch of a signature is exponentially more important. And popping on a signature and date can be the last satisfying touch to finishing a piece, like the period at the end of a very long sentence.
So give it some thought and consider it standard operating procedure and you’ll be all set! But for more discussion on ways to sign your work, check out the Blue Bottle Tree blog post, Signing Your Work. For a library resource of artist signatures, handy for VCM collecting and for learning about some options, check out the Artist Signature Guide.
“Whether you succeed or not is irrelevant, there is no such thing.
Making your unknown known is the important thing.”
— Georgia O’Keeffe
