Graduate Owl Ornimal Ornaments: Now Available + How to Sculpt Owl Feet

My Graduate Owl Ornimal Ornaments are now available for purchase. Five of the Graduate Owls are nesting at Five Crows in Natick & waiting for their new forever homes. The remainder are available from me directly. The Graduate Owls are $28.00 (+ MA sales tax if you’re a resident.) If you’re out of state, I ship via USPS Priority mail. Shipping costs will be added to your order. The Graduate Owls come with a story card and are placed in a clear gift box .

Graduate Owl Ornimals

Doesn’t it look like they’re going to break out in a round of hooting?

If you’re interested in buying a Graduate Owl Ornimal for your 2012 graduate, leave a comment on this post. Let me know if you’d like a custom color tassel to match your graduate’s class colors. Tassels are included for free. I’m already working on a second batch of Graduate Owls as I only have one left in stock. (Yep, four have already been claimed for some special 2012 graduates.)

How To Sculpt Owl Feet

In the midst of producing the Graduate Owls, I decided to make a series of videos on how they were created. The first one in the series shows how I sculpt their feet. Enjoy!

Work In Progress: Ornimals and Tiny Totem Bobbles

What are you working on this week?

I’ve had a productive week in the studio making Graduate Owl Ornimals and new Tiny Totem Bobbles. Here are some of these pieces in progress.

Graduate Owl Ornimals

This group of five Graduate Owls is half of the 10 pieces I need to have finished by the end of this month. Another five are on my work table in the first stage of sculpting.

"Neked" Graduate Owls

"Washed" Graduate Owl Ornimals

I’m giving some thought to making a video on my sculpting and finishing process for the Ornimals. Is that something you’d like to see?

Tiny Totem Bobble Birds

The birds are being well-received. They make people smile. I’ve sold one already. And I put together a class on sculpting the birds. That proposal is being reviewed in a couple of places. I’ll let you know when those classes are scheduled.

For now, here are two new versions of the Tiny Totem Bobble Birds.

Tiny Totem Bobble Birds In Progress

I have this fear that the hole I drill in the bottom of the birds will close or shrink during the curing process. So I made these two little curing “mounts” for the pieces. It works pretty well. Except for the fact that the wire supporting the bird on the left came out of the mount and was stuck in the bottom of the bird after it cured in the oven. I was able to remove the wire with a set of pliers and a good yank. No damage done. Not sure why the liquid clay didn’t bond with the wire and raw clay of the mount.

What did you work on this week in your studio?

Thanks for stopping by and have a great weekend.

A New Ornimal Revealed: The Graduate Owl Ornimal

Over the last couple of days, I shared with you two pictures of a new Ornimal that I created this week. I asked you to guess what you thought the critter would become.

You were on the right track when you guessed something in the bird family: a chicken, a duck, a goose, or an ostrich.

Today, I reveal the finished piece.

Here are the two earlier pictures that helped you with your guesses:

And here is the finished piece, the Graduate Owl Ornimal

Graduate Owl Ornimal 2012

I had fun creating this new Ornimal, especially adding his graduation cap and feet. The addition of the feet make him mult-functional; you can display him on a shelf or table or you can hang him from a hook. I’m contemplating the addition of a small tassel, perhaps making them individual to the graduate’s school colors.

The Graduate Owl Ornimal is available for purchase for $28.00. Orders happily accepted for delivery in time for May or June graduations. The Graduate Owl Ornimal is approximately 3″ tall.

Thanks to everyone who sent in their guesses and congratulations to Jean W who correctly guessed that this was an owl based on the part 2 image post.

A New Ornimal In The Works: Part 2

You guys did a great job with your guesses about this new Ornimal. Some of your guesses included

• a chicken
• a duck
• a goose

You’re in the right category, guessing that it is some type of bird.

The little guy has been cured, cooled, and given a wash of acrylic paint. Here is another picture of this new Ornimal.

Any more thoughts on what this critter is?

Full reveal happens on Friday.

A New Ornimal In The Works

I had a brainstorm the other night as I lay in bed. An idea for a new Ornimal. Work on this new piece started this week. All will be revealed soon enough. Until then, here is a picture of a portion of the new Ornimal.

Anyone care to take a guess at what this Ornimal will become?