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Whidbey Woodland Creature

All > "Art" > Sculpture > Whidbey Woodland Creature by jeffneal
I was recently on a trip to Whidbey Island in Washington state with my wife. We were standing on a pathway overlooking beautiful Puget Sound when we both heard a rustling in the bushes behind us. Then a tiny little voice yelled "MOVE!" We turn around and to our amazement found a small woodland creature admiring the view as we were. Apparently awe inspiring seascapes aren't lost on those shorter than two inches. Anyway, we got to talking and apparently he was on a three month journey to get down to the seashore (only about a 4 minute walk). My wife and I like to help where we can so we offered to give him a lift. He graciously accepted and we were on our way. The rest of the day was one of the best I've ever had. He told us countless stories about his family and how he was chosen from his clan to go catch their years allotment of fish, 436. I guess their laws aren't very strict. Anyway, we sat and fished with him for an hour or so and left him to be at peace in his element.

Ok, fine so that's not true, but I wish it were. This is my second attempt at sculpting/molding (first attempt to be posted shortly). It took me about three hours and it was a lot of fun. My aim was to make one of those chinese bonsai fishermen but with a twist for a fountain I'm working on. I made it out of Sculpey and haven't baked it yet. I'm kind of afraid to do so. He has delicate fingernails so I'm afraid of what the outcome will be. I'd love to hear your feedback.

I started with rolled up ball.
I carved in the mouth, teeth, and tongue.
Next was the hair, I remember that scoring helps to hold things together. After my first attempt at this kind of stuff, I figured out that rubber gloves are a godsend. No fingerprints!
Hair club for woodland creatures.
I molded his legs and cut holes in the bottom of his pelvis to stick them in.
For his coat, I flattened out a piece and folded over to sleeves then wrapped it around his body.
Then I poked holes where his nails were going to go and rolled up little bits of sculpy to put in them.
I found a good stick and molded his fish of choice.
And that's it! He's complete!
Left to fish in peace.

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Comments:

Posted by kristian 1 year ago ( 18-Feb-2008 14:00:36 )

Very Cool! I like the history that follows :-)

Posted by natetrue 1 year ago ( 18-Feb-2008 14:25:31 )

Yeah, and the size totally fooled me. The photos had me thinking he was something like 18-24 inches tall rather than two.

Posted by colombianito 1 year ago ( 18-Feb-2008 17:15:55 )

very cool !! great job..

Posted by jesse 1 year ago ( 19-Feb-2008 16:12:08 )

My comment, You should fire it as soon as possible...why? When left unfired these creations get squashed at some point, not on purpose. Also you can always buy more sculpey and I hope you do. AND firing it takes it matte finish, not glossy which generally looks nicer. IF his nails or hair fall off, or break due to brittleness (probably not going to be an issue) then just get some tacky glue or super glue and (using minimal amounts) glue it back on! I suggest you bake him at a bit below the suggested temperature, because of his thickness he will need to bake for longer (like 20 minutes) then turn it up at the last five minutes to 350 degrees. Keep a close eye on him through the whole process and if he begins to bake more than golden on the very edges open the oven for a minute to let some of the heat escape then turn it down a little.

Posted by paulhoover 1 year ago ( 19-Feb-2008 22:21:56 )

Nice work man. Usually sculpy won't deform too much. Sometimes it will sag a bit. I wouldn't worry about it. Better to have a hard sculpture than a squished one.

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