Technique: Sculptured dragonfly with translucent wings
Win: Absolutely
Challenge:
- To create my first proper sculpture
- To form dragonfly wings using a very simple cane of translucent and black clay
- To build wings thin enough to allow light to shine through
Lessons Learned:
- The translucent clay I used was likely quite old. It needed nearly two teaspoons of clay softener and a good half hour of conditioning before it became workable
- Even after conditioning, rolling it within the black clay still led to cracking
- Translucent clay may fall into the same category as opal and some glitter clays, which can be more difficult to condition into a smooth, cohesive mass
- Despite the challenges, the cane still functioned. On close inspection, however, there are visible black veins and small cracks within the finer details
- This is clearly a technique that will improve with repetition and experimentation
Confidence Level: 8/10
