This work displays one of my most favorite animals, an axolotl. I chose to create an axolotl due to this reason as well as because of how cute and funky they look in real life. I wanted to take that cute and funkiness to the next level by combining an axolotl with nature, creating a new hybrid animal. To create this piece I first made two spheres using newspaper and combined them using clay on the outside. Then, I used more newspaper and clay to form the mouth, legs, and tail. After this, I sculpted his gills and the lily pad on top of his head to give him more details. I also carved more mouth detailing and foot detailing with a needle tool, as well as used a bead coil to create his cute little eye. The underglazes I used for this are pink, white, and green. I mixed pink with white to get the different shades of pink seen on the axolotl and put a clear glaze overtop when fired.
Fearless Beast
I chose to create a bust of a tigers head due to how much I love Tigers and how they appear. Tigers are one of the fiercest creatures on this Earth, and I wanted to show that fierceness in this piece. To create this piece, I first created a base using newspaper and tape. Then, I placed clay all over the base, adding dents and more clay where it was needed. I also ended up adding wires into the jaw of the tiger to give it more integrity as it was drying. After I finished getting the overall structure of the face, I carved out and added details to the tiger, as well as added teeth and eyes to him. I also ended up adding some hair details to the sides of his face as well as his ears. After that, I smoothed him out and had him fired. Instead of glazing him, I chose to paint him with acrylics instead to add more details to his fur and to get more accurate colors. I also added air dry clay to smooth out places I didn't smooth out before it was fired as well as fixed cracks I saw. Overall, I really enjoyed creating this piece!