This large wall hung piece is based on an Anhinga grooming. They are similar to cormorants and spend a lot of time with their wings outstretched basking in the sun. This is because they lack the extra oily coating that traps air against the skin of most water birds. As diving fish eaters this makes managing buoyancy easier but does mean they are wet to the skin and have to spend time drying out. They are known as snake necks probably because of their smallish head and extra long neck. This fits into my current exploration of the elegant twists of long necked birds. This particular piece has very contrasting feathers which highlight the delicate preening portrayed despite the fierceness of their beaks.
You can see the tail is created separately and will be glued in place. I am increasingly creating multiple pieces of one sculpture in my work to allow larger size and make them less fragile.
There is also a couple views of the original piece which I made early in my exploration of ceramics and didn’t make it through the bisque process.
23″X7″X9.5″