At the 21 of November, 2012 I finished my most ambitious sculpture work to date. In fact, perhaps my only sculpture work ever if you don’t count stuff made in primary school (and at home, keeping my father company in his workshop) when I was younger. It turned out way above my expectations. A large part of the reason I draw and make things and also the reason I play music is for the extreme contentment resulting from the intermittent incidents of creatures and instruments becoming ensouled during the process.
Case in point, Hemlo the clay platypus:
Hemlo (the Swedish word for “secret” turned into a childish noun) the clay platypus started out as a wish of doing something platypoid for my fiance, as he’d had a obsession with platypus (platypi?) (Ornitorhynchidae!) earlier this year. Visiting my father (a renaissance man and jack-of-all-trades who among other things makes ceramics, like the plate in this post) in the spring soon lead to a project of making a life-sized platypus in clay. At first I wanted to glaze it in some brown colour, but I some of the detail would be lost by that, so I decided instead to fire him after only some polishing, especially concentrating on polishing the beak to make it seem differently textured from the rest of the body (this is more visible in the images below behind the cut). Quite early in the process I felt that Hemlo became ensouled, so to speak. He simply looked alive (and asleep). I wasn’t making a sculpture, I was freeing Hemlo from all that clay surrounding him.
Material: clay (earthenware).
Equipment: patience (drying process before firing took the better part of 2012), wooden utensils for working in clay. After drying: sewing needle for detailing, small plastic utensils and a couple of brushes. Water and hands for polishing.
Size: 25x15x10 cm.
Notes: Being a scientist, I am quite picky with anatomy. The anatomy of Hemlo is not perfect, especially not around the beak. On the other hand, there is only one Hemlo in the world. Er. He might be a subspecies.
I want to do more sculpture! I want my own workshop! I love Hemlo! Luckily, I love my fiance as well, and I know he will give Hemlo a good home.
Behind the cut is several pictures of Hemlo, before he was fired and from all sorts of directions.
Anachroneironaut 
It almost looks as if you created a little clay golem familiaris for M, he looks so organic!
Ah, what a great observation. Hemlo says you are closest to guess his true nature thus far, but that he ate that long note before I managed to stick it anywhere else… 😉
I adore your posts! When I sort through my email, I save yours for last so that I can let my mind go and immerse myself in your creative energy. Thanks so much.
Hemlo now sleeps on my sideboard, guarding my treasure chest that I keeps odds and ends in…
[…] I discovered a tiny crack in the body during the curing time (which was way shorter than for Hemlo the platypus). Time will […]
[…] is the little guy from all sorts of angles, in the proper hue as well. He is made in red clay, Hemlo was made in brown clay. I do not know that much more about clays and such, I usually work with […]