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Winged Victory of Samothrace (Reconstructed)
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- Category: Sculptures
I first saw the Winged Victory of Samothrace at the Louvre in the summer of 1989. Back then I didn't truly appreciate its historical significance, but I recall being mesmerized by the sheer elegance and beauty of the pose. The goddess Nike appeared to be confidently striding forward, perhaps just upon alighting, as her hips and lower torso gracefully swing in balance with her extended right leg. My attempt was to sculpt the winged goddess Nike as a tribute to the unknown 2nd century Hellenistic artist of this timeless masterpiece. Sculpting her with kiln fired pottery clay however, allowed - or required me rather - to take some artistic liberties with her hair style and positioning of her arms. Incidentally, historians have a fairly good guess as to what the entire piece may have looked like prior to its destruction, based on ancient coins and a recovered right hand. There is a very informative video on YouTube on the restoration of the Winged Victory by the Louvre that explains this. My thanks again to the Ceramic Art Studio and Shop.
A hairline split formed across her neck during the second firing. This was probably due to the weight of her wings pulling her upper torso back while the terra cotta softened during the firing. The side benefit was the angle and curvature of the wings actually improved overall.
Wing detail - I actually tried to copy every feather on both wings from the Louvre piece.
Every feather...
Victory at night
Wet clay model at the earliest stage - total sculpting time at this point was about 8 hours.
Wet clay model - this is one of my favorite wallpapers. It captures the piece during my favorite stage of sculpting. Notice the steel support (coat hanger) that held the model vertically until the clay set.
African Elephant
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- Category: Sculptures
African elephants (genus Loxodonta) are the largest land animals, weighing over 13,000 lbs. An elephant's trunk contains up to 150,000 muscles and their sense of smell are four times as sensitive as that of a bloodhound. The tusks are actually incisor teeth and continue to grow throughout an elephant's lifetime. Elephants are highly intelligent and have the largest brains of all land animals (and by body mass ratio, larger than whales). The closest living relatives of elephants are dugongs and manatees. Incidentally, the Asian elephant is evolutionarily closer to the extinct mammoths than they are to African elephants. This was my first attempt at sculpting an elephant, and based on the results I will most likely be sculpting one again as my clay skills improve. My thanks again to the Ceramic Art Studio and Shop.
The blue glass shards which were supposed to be water puddles didn't quite turn out the way I had expected, so this elephant is searching for salt instead.
Wet Clay Model
Siddhartha Gautama
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- Category: Sculptures
"What you are is what you have been.
What you'll be is what you do now."
- Gautama Buddha
According to modern scholars, Siddhartha Gautama lived during the 4th century BCE, born to a chieftain of the Shakya state near the foot of the Himalayas (present day Nepal). Siddhartha's mother died shortly after he was born, and his father wanting his son to become a great king, shielded Siddhartha from religious teachings and surrounded him in luxuries. At the age of sixteen Siddhartha was married to his cousin Yasodhara, and they had a son, Rahula. Siddhartha lived in opulence as a royal prince until he reached 29, when for the first time he came face to face with various forms of human suffering. This led to an internal crisis, and he abruptly left everything behind to live life as a homeless ascetic under two yogic masters. Siddhartha practiced extreme asceticism for the next six years until he eventually realized that this did not provide the answers he was seeking. And then one day he ate a meal, took a bath, and meditated under a fig tree for 49 days until he attained Nirvana and became known as the Buddha, or "awakened one" at the age of 35. My thanks again to the Ceramic Art Studio and Shop.
Wet clay model
Wet clay model
Concept sketch - iPad Pro and Apple Pencil
Sparrow Jewelry Dish
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- Category: Sculptures
Just a simple jewelry dish adorned with a sparrow and some oak leaves. My thanks again to the Ceramic Art Studio and Shop.
Wet clay model
Wet clay model
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