Artist’s Statement

Turtleneck was one of my first larger-sized fired clay busts. Doing a larger fired clay piece can be a challenge because you have to keep the clay walls minimally thick or risk explosion or cracking of the work while it’s being fired. To achieve the hollow neck and head for , I used the extremely high-tech and space-age armature known as the Low fat-Pringles®-can-wrapped-in-generic-brand-plastic-wrap technique. Well, maybe not space-age, but it sure worked (and was dirt cheap).

I really enjoy doing faces/busts. God just packed so much beauty and meaning into the human face! To date (November, 2004), this is one of my only female busts. Having spent most of my time sculpting men, I had to often correct myself anatomically while working on . I’d start out with a square, masculine jaw and have to hone it down to a more pointed one. I’d start out with a heavier brow ridge and have to hone that down to something more gentle and womanly. Even the lips, the width of the nose, and the cheekbones took considerable thought considering the differences between men and women.

With Turtleneck, what I really was after was a creative image of feminine facial beauty. Probably the only unusually creative thing about the piece is the high turtleneck. And even this idea I got that idea from a head-shot in a fashion magazine. Nonetheless, I am pretty satisfied with the soft femininity in the woman’s face and expression (if I humbly say so, myself!). It’s a simple and beautiful sculpture, which is just what I wanted it to be.