“kite flyers”
inspiration
With many of my creations, I’m often asked “Where did you get the idea for that sculpture?” For this piece I really don’t know! My husband and I were on a camping/kayaking trip to Baja with lots of down time and in one of those peaceful moments, somehow the idea of a little girl carried up by her kite with mom and her little dog holding on for dear life, just sprung from my imagination.
technique
How in the world do you get two figures and a kite in a line at a 45 degree angle to stand attached to a rock without falling over or bending? The answer, after much experimentation, is very stiff wire. Usually I work with wire that I can easily bend with my hands. But in this case, my husband and some tools were needed to get the right bend in the wire where it was attached to the rock. I cemented the wire to the rock with Apoxie Sculpt, which when cured overnight is a very strong adhesive. Then, with thinner gauge wire, I attached armatures for the figures. To create the kite and skirts, I used a roller to cover the metal screen with Apoxie clay. The screen allowed me to give the skirts their shape. That was very fun! The faces, hair, boots and little dog were all just free-form sculpted with Apoxie. Once the clay was cured, I painted with acrylic paints and added some luster with metallic wax.
materials
Wire, a rock from my garden, Apoxie Sculpt, wire screen, acrylic paint, Finnabair metallic wax
Dimensions for this piece: 20”H x 10”W x 8”D
This piece was gifted to Marie and Phil Pearthree in appreciation for their generous contribution of $1000 to the LaPlata County Humane Society.
“Suzie - the sculpture is magnificent. Besides the anti-gravity subject matter, We LOVE the bits of color and the iridescence/patina of the piece. We can't thank you enough for letting us have it. We really love it.”
- Marie and Phil Pearthree.
