Saturday, February 22, 2014

Which came first...

...the chicken or the egg?  It was this age-old riddle that provided the base inspiration for my newest piece.



For my guild's (PCAGOE - Polymer Clay Artists Guild of Etsy) March 2014 challenge, the theme is eggs.  I had decided to finally make use of a glass egg-shaped container I purchased at one of my local thrift stores some time ago.  This cute little container was a frosted glass egg that was made up of 2 halves separated by a decorative wavy cut.  I had other ideas for this challenge initially; I thought perhaps I might do another cut and layered project; I tossed around ideas pertaining to "traditional" Easter egg themes.  And then one day, while working on my studio and moving a vintage glass hen dish (you know the ones, mine looks exactly like this)...  I thought of the old chicken/egg riddle, added that thought to my guild challenge, and the rest as they say, is history.



The hen is modeled from buff orpington hens (click the link to see a photo of one).  I first sculpted the hen with some yellow premo, knowing I would give her lots of texture and would alter the coloring with an antiquing coat of burnt sienna, white and black paints, to add lots of depth to the feathers.  Her comb, beak, ear lobes, eyes and wattle were all coated with a gloss finish to add a little shine to those parts, her feathers and the bottom basket half have no coating. Next came the sculpting of the grass and then constructing the basket with extruded strips.  I knew again that I would antique the basket with white to make it look like a white-washed Easter basket.  I then decided to add a little surprise to the inside of the box....


...some grass and some brown eggs.  The grass and eggs are not attached to the inside, so they could be removed and the box could be used as a trinket box.  I had originally intended to sell this piece, even after it was finished I had decided to list it to my etsy store.  But after my husband saw it, all that changed... he at first thought it was something I had bought.  When he realized that I had made it, he urged me to keep it, as he thinks it's one of my best pieces.  The dimensions of this piece are 4 1/2 inches tall by 3 inches wide.  The little eggs are about 3/4" tall by 5/8" wide.  Here are a few other views and close-up shots:

 
Top View
 
Tail View




I'm pretty happy with my little sculpture, not as happy as my husband seems to be, but happy enough....  What do you think about her? Leave me a comment below!  Voting for this challenge opens on March 1st and ends midnight March 7th.  I'll post a reminder here with a link to the guild blog when voting begins!

10 comments:

  1. LOVE IT!! It's a wonderful, fresh idea. Grade A, in fact!

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    1. Thank you Ginger, for the kind and clever comment! ;)

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  2. Another clear winner! great job, your attention to detail is incredible.

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  3. Beth, you never cease to amaze! I love it! It is a clear demonstration of the talented artist that you are. Your husband should be proud!

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  4. This is an amazing piece! So much detail. She is a beautiful winner for me!

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  5. Wonderful concept and awesome execution. A winner for sure!

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