Miniature Sculpture

Lately, it has been difficult for me to work on the wheel as I have a little guy taking up most of my lap :)  So until he gets here, I have been focusing on handbuilding small scale sculptures that explore the detail and texture found in nature.

This first sculpture is an exploration of the dogwood seed pod, which I found in my yard a couple of weeks ago.  It is very strange looking, with hexagonal sections that each have a little bump in the center.  My wild imagination began making up all kinds of stories about the exotic fruit tree we had growing in our yard, and I made Ryan come and see my new discovery.  He took one look and said, "that's a dogwood seed," and went back to mowing the lawn.  I couldn't help but laugh at myself!

Sometimes my wild imagination can be a blessing.  It helps me create fantastical sculptures that are based on real natural materials, but take on a life of their own.  I created a stamp that recreates the texture of the dogwood seed pod, and to the right you'll see the first prototype sculpture using this stamp.  The dogwood branches cradle the enlarged seed pod, emphasizing the relationship of branch to seed to flower.

The acorn cap mold is another small sculpture tool I have recently created.  I carved a reverse acorn cap texture inside of a pinch pot, so now I can press clay into the mold and make multiple acorn caps!  I envision lots of tiny caps with creatures living inside of them...