I like the way the hair spills now. She is looking more believable now. There is still fussy work to be done. In a piece this size, a quarter millimeter difference in a shape can ruin the form. I still need to attend to her left wrist and one eyelid.
Although I liked the hair in the drawing, in metal it is out of control now. A haircut is in order. I'll take a little off the back.
The assembled pieces are carefully carved and chased with engraving tools and chisels. I've taken care to keep a spacial relationship with the layers of the composition.
The details are beginning to be roughed in. Certain areas have been corrected by moving metal around with a blunt chasing tool.
The volume and the subtler shapes of the form are coming along. This is a self developing process for me. Though things are always planned ahead, the working causes changes in the execution.
I was inspired by the color of oxidized copper to create a small brooch. The reclining woman will have a spill of red hair. She will be sculpted in fine silver, a mighty pale complexion. The background will be a dark black shakudo and the rim will be gold.
The pieces are cut from heavy stock...
...Carefully fitted and inlayed...
And are ready to be welded together!
