From doughnut dough to exquisite clay sculpting By Zaheera Johari
WHAT started as a childhood hobby of using doughnut dough to craft figurines from special movie effects has turned into a passionate pursuit of clay-sculpting for a Miri engineer.
It all began when Ramzan Epi was about five. His mum, who was preparing doughnuts for the family, handed him a good chunk of dough to keep him busy.
Young Ramzan began sculpting and crafting “the life out of the dough” until it became airdried, literally crumbling into smithereens.
Interestingly enough, his dad bought him a block of modelling clay the very next day.
“Probably, he was thinking I could have used up all the doughnut dough for sculpting and crafting the previous day,” quipped the 36-year-old Bachelor of Applied Arts (engineering technology) graduate.
The special effects films that got him sculpting and recreating most of his childhood toys included those from ‘Gremlin’; ‘Alien’; ‘Terminator 2: Judgement Day’; Tim Burton’s ‘Batman Returns’ and ‘Nightmare Before Christmas’; ‘Death Becomes Her’; and ‘Who Framed Roger Rabbit’.
Ramzan’s love for sculpting is not only about a desire to create something or just anything. As he has discovered, most times, it requires inventiveness and artistry to produce interesting items.
He prefers clay for texture and suitability in creating flexible designs and producing a range of interesting accessories or figurines.
Ever since his father first bought him modelling clay, he started using his allowance to buy more of it.
“Everything was self-taught. I learned so much from watching the special effects from movies. I paid special attention to behind-thescenes creativity and innovation of a movie production. That’s where you get to know how everything starts,” he said.
Ramzan loves the challenge to create something “way better” than the store-bought stuff. When he was young, he would rather play with modelling clay and Lego. And back then, apart from making action film figurines – first with dough, then with modelling clay – he also created ‘Airwolf’ robots and army tanks out of empty boxes.
He remembered while studying at SM Sains Miri, he sculpted a Catwoman figurine during chemistry class and was caught by the teacher.
“It was a very sexy pose of Catwoman and surprisingly, the teacher was not angry but instead said it was nice and took the figurine away. That was the last I saw of my Catwoman figurine,” he said with a grin.
Sculpting was put on the back burner when Ramzan entered university but in 2004, a Disney programme showcasing clay art rekindled his childhood passion.
“I started sculpting again to pass the time and put some of my works on my office workstation. My colleagues noticed and asked where I got the figurines from.
“When I said I made them myself, they started asking me custom-make figurines for them. From there, I got better in my sculpting, and to expand my horizons, delved into polymer clay (a type of hardenable modelling clay), learning all about it through YouTube.”
Ramzan first posted some of his works on his Instagram account – @mopebdavamiento – with MOPEB standing for My Own Private Escape Buddy. Davamiento came up in June 2011, when Ramzan’s late best friend, Yusland Radin, said MOPEB needed a last name – and that was when Ramzan saw the word ‘Davamiento’ in a newspaper he was reading in Florence, Italy.
“My @mopebdavamiento Instagram means a lot to me as it was where I first showcased my works on the Net. Besides, it also reminds me so much of Yusland.”
Since late last year, Ramzan started rebranding his works and created an Instagram account dedicated to his works at @aluckyfindshop – which can also be found on Etsy and Carousell. He ships his products all over the world.He explained that for more interesting designs, it is better to go for clay with a good texture. The clay used consists of two types of polymers – polymer clay and air drying clay.
Polymer clay is based on PVC (polyvinyl chloride) and combustion is involved to harden and strengthen it.
Polymer clay blocks and items are produced by countries such as Japan, China, the US and Britain. The price ranges from RM10 to RM13 apiece.
Ramzan said the time taken to complete a figurine or any item for his clients would depend on the intricacy level of the work – the more complicated the design, the longer the process. And he believes in producing quality work.
Since clay is “very sensitive to dust”, Ramzan has to ensure his workshop and his hands are always dust-free otherwise quality would be affected.
“Once the figurine or sculpture is done, it has to be baked. The temperature and baking time will depend on the thickness of the item. Usually, the temperature is set at 130 degrees Celsius and the baking is from 20 minutes to an hour.
“Polymer clay can produce a variety of interesting items.
The clay can be transformed into ornaments such as figurines, miniatures, gifts or home decor. Everything is done with originality and I try to avoid things that are copyrighted to stay true to the art,” he explained.