I haven't done as much with the clay as I had planned over the winter months, but some badly needed organization has been completed and am hopefully going to be in a position to do a lot of creating this spring...and hopefully get the home repairs completed at the same time! Whew! A busy time!
Easter has come and gone...I hope everyone had a blessed day yesterday! It's still not very warm here where we are, but the grass is getting green, so hopefully it won't be long before it feels like Easter!
So, in honor of Easter, here's one of the creations I was able to complete this past weekend...
This bunny is all clay except for the whiskers (fishing line) and the eyes (glass beads). Oh...and a few toothpick halves inserted to secure his head and each ear. Other than that...solid clay. This bunny was made with pearl white clay, which I probably will not do again. The pearl clays are so soft that it is more difficult to retain the shape while holding the figure and keeping fingerprints out of the clay.
I only gloss coated select parts of the bunny - the pink portion of the ears, the cheeks, the nose, the teeth, the egg, and the paw pads.
He is my first animal "sculpture." Not too bad for numero uno. But I do (as will always) see areas that could use improvement.
Instructions: He was simply built by shaping the body first, adding the feet/legs and shaping the toes, then adding the "arms" and shaping the fingers. Then separately the head was formed, the cheeks added and the teeth. The triangular pink nose was attached and then the strip above the nose to round out his forehead. The eyes were added by sinking glass seed beads into the clay and then fishing line inserted into the cheeks. The whiskers were removed for curing and then glued back into the holes once hardened. The head was then attached to the body using a piece of toothpick to serve as a small "spine." The ears were formed with pink clay added and shaped before being gently attached to the head, again, using pieces of toothpicks for support. And finally the tail. The tail is the same white/glitter clay the cheeks are made with. Many tiny holes were made in the tail before attaching. The hands were pulled away from his body enough to insert the clay egg. As he is pretty thick, I baked him for more than an hour -- keeping watch on his ears as they are thinner and didn't want them to burn. You could cure the body partially then complete the curing once the head is attached. Just watch your series of bake times based on the thickness of the head.
I"m debating on what do make next -- a frog, turtle, maybe a mouse?? Stay tuned...
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