This was something I have wanted to create but needed time to process. I will post images in reverse order of progress.
Here is a photo of my brother Mike in 2005. This photo really captured a fun side of Mike.
Early on in the sculpture.
His likeness is captured. I changed the hat since he wasn't a cowboy, he just got caught in a cowboy hat, so I played up the fun. Here I am developing the message I want to convey in the sculpture.
The writing on his T-shirt is the main theme of this sculpture. I added the Angel wings and feeling of clouds symbolic of being in heaven.
Details of the back include a frog, lizard and turtle. Mike had a lifetime love for these odd little creatures. There are also different heart forms that do not read quite yet, but will be enhanced with the final finish.
This sculpture will be in my garden so I decided to put a layer of resin clay over the water based clay, basically re-sculpting as I go.
The resin skin is complete and now I am in the process of hollowing the water based clay out of most of the sculpture except the wings.
Here all the parts are cleaned out and before I reassemble them, I will touch up the surface by adding clay or sanding rough areas.
The Sculpture is mounted on an upside down pot and placed on a turntable. The plants are Milkweed, food for the Monarch Butterfly caterpillar. I also planted some succulents to have greenery when the caterpillars gobble up the milkweed.
When I look out my kitchen window, or walk through my garden, the first thing I am reminded of is that Mike is OK. Here's to you Mike. Love, Gina