Day 39 felt like reaching for something bold, and landing somewhere quieter than intended.
The idea was ambitious: a large flower pendant built from individual petals, each one hollow and wrapped in an extruded slab, coming together into a single, striking piece. It had all the ingredients of a statement design.
But the final result didn’t quite carry that impact.
Looking at it now, the petals feel too uniform. There’s a sameness across them that flattens what could have been a more dynamic composition. Perhaps if each petal had its own pattern or variation, the piece would have felt more alive, more layered.
The colour plays a role too. For something meant to be large and expressive, the palette sits too quietly. It doesn’t quite deliver the “wow” that a piece of this scale seems to ask for.
And then there’s the shape. Not wrong, but not quite what I had in mind. This is one of those moments where working within the limits of the tools I already have shaped the outcome. It’s a practical choice while I’m still learning, but it does influence the design more than I sometimes expect.
I was also using all the last bits of my Fimo clay, and I find it more challenging to work with, it feels sticky and my hands prefer Sculpey’s makeup.
And yet, underneath all of that, something important is happening.
The hollow forms are cleaner. The backs are getting neater. The bails are more controlled, more intentional. The structure is improving, even if the design didn’t fully land this time.
So while it doesn’t feel like a win on the surface, it still marks progress in the foundations.
And those foundations are quietly getting stronger.
