I started this sweet girl just before Christmas last year and changed her just before the year closed out.
I wasn't completely happy with her arms. I had used a hard to bend armature wire that made her arms feel clumsy, so I broke her arms, took out that wire and reset them into a position that I felt captured her emotions more sincerely... Or perhaps it was capturing my own emotions at the time. December always leave me feeling a little on the vulnerable side.
It was good to pour that into my clay.
With my injured shoulder, I had to wait patiently to finish her.. I don't mind waiting, sometimes the wait helps me to see things I can do to finish her story. It's like she was telling me how to go. I started adding her birds and I kind of fell in love with them. I didn't know how I would paint her but I love the direction we went together. Her slender arms and poised hands in the front are so gracious and yet when I look at her back - her birds look like hands around her... Like she's {embracing} herself. There is such a vulnerability to her that keeps me looking at her.
I love the Japanese writing down her back... like it's her delicate spine.
She's bigger than my other pieces but to me, she's beautiful and might be one of my favourite pieces so far. She's different to my other pieces and I kind of like that. She will be displayed at my exhibition next week.
If you are interesting in discovering with PaperClay at all, my SoulBearers Class is still up and running and still very active.