Snake Eyes

Adding clay onto the foam ball with neoprene shapes glued to it and referring to my image boards. Using soft silicone shaper tools for smoothing areas too fine for my fingers to fit.

Urhu's body made in the build-up style was fine, especially because his tail will be covered over with scales to finish it but I needed a way of getting more control over how his face would look. I hit upon the hybrid idea of bodies by build up faces by casting sculpts. I tried it out on this puppet and think it's going to be the way I make all future puppets.

It was so fun to sculpt again, I'd forgotten how much I love it and want to make sure I do it again and often.

The objectives for this Liminal Being (creatures "on the threshold", ambiguously between here and "there") was as follows:

• Primordial features/suggestive of reptilian head and brow shape/yet also humanoid
• Mute/yet smiling
• Wise/Elegant/Crudely rendered
• Prominent ears to emphasize the importance of sound to this character
• Friendly yet isolated
• Meditative/ Spiritually sensitive

Grabbed my #1 favorite oil based modelling clay, Klean Klay that Michael Curry introduced me to. Kept adding pieces until the character showed up as a surprise. Don't they always?!

I had no idea he'd look like this but I think it's right and will fit right into the Halfland handmade world.