I think it's a fudging wheel. It's used to make things produced in a factory look like their hand made.

Maybe I this would be better if you called it the top 5 figurative sculptors. What about guys like Caulder, DiSurevo, Doh-Ho Suh, IM Pei, Pheobe Washburn, etc. I would either narrow your scope or don't do posts like this at all. Otherwise I love the site.

I saw a few TV interviews with Marla and her parents and it seems that her work becomes a lot less sofisticated when her father(a painter himself) isn't there to help her paint. I think this girl is totally talented but I have a feeling that her dad is totally pushing his aesthetic on her tiny little hands.