Hello my sweet honey bunnies!
Today is monday and it's been a week since I wanted to show you my newest journal which actually isn't a custom order but a product of my own heart, mind, soul and hands! Yay! First one this year together with the necklace I made last week.
Exclusively here in my blog I would like to share all work in progress pictures so you can see how I started and where I ended up. Of course I would appreciate if no one uses this as tutorial and makes an owl like this. No copycats allowed :) Just love and respect, okay?
So everything started with a morning where I were laying on my back in bed and I saw a vision of an owl, just an owl with goggly eyes staring at me from the leafy forest. I jumped up, dressed myself, got all the clays out, all the tools and things... then somewhere in the process I brushed my hair and had a breakfast (can't remember when and how.. I think Ash looked after me all that day as I told him that today I am in a creative trance mode, meaning I am diving into something for all 100%).

I made the eyes from a 12mm big glass cabochons which I have quite a lot as I like making my own custom made eyes for creatures I make. For these particular eyes I used Precious Metal by Viva Decor and Perfect Pearls in ocean blue and gold colours. I also used gold acrylics on one eye to make an appearance of a falling stars reflecting in owl's eye. For some reason I decided to do it only with one eye.


When the eye lids were put into place and two main feathery eye brows formed a full correct composition, then the owl started to look serious by all means. Even with the massive red headpiece it looked good, sort of royal, like a shaman, the head of the tribe. I was happy with the result. I struggled a lot to understand how feathers would go around the nose and owl's neck and so I jumped onto working on his body hoping that the inspiration for the face part will come at the right moment.
I truly believe that the process of creation can't go without trusting your guiding spirits. Sometimes you do things you haven't even planned at first and when you start to head towards some nice, but completely different direction, the understanding that it's not actually you who is in charge of creation but the God inside you, quickly settles in your mind. I honestly truly believe in it. I believe that I am only a tool. God expresses himself through me and tells me stories of beauty, shows me how he likes to create, how he likes to innovate.
And if to be completely honest, call me crazy or what, but I pray before I start any work these days and I am asking for help, guidance and inspiration.
So... I made quite a few gradients in the colours I felt are good for this sort of artwork and there were white perlescent - turquoise perlescent, golds to golden greens ( premixed with mica powders first)... Greens to turquoises. And then of course I cut each little feather with a scalpel separately and I made a texture of each feather also separately with the same tool. I love feathers and it's never enough feathers in anything I do in my life. I wear them, I draw them, I clay them and even have boxes of raw feathers from different birds hanging all over my place.
In the end I filled in the owl's face with brown and gave it a fluffy texture. I worked on the background too. I engraved leafs and branches into clay with a carving tool and coloured those with eye shadows ( mate colours with no shimmer).I also used black matte mica powder to calm down the reds on owl's head and to add up some shadows on the brown part of owl's body. I sort of wanted to give it a colourful depth.
After all was baked I used black acrylics to make it look older, deeper, a bit darker and, as I always call it, more serious. And so here is the result! Enjoy and I hope you like me telling you how I make my journals. Please let me know your thoughts as writing this post took some time and I want to know what you think.
Thank you very much,
very impressive
ReplyDeleteBeautiful!
ReplyDeletehow long did it take you to finish? and how do you do that, there is no dust laying on the clay? i wonder every time! cuz my pieces alwas look like little fur balls...:/
ReplyDeletei think this piece is more than beautyful! the colors are so bolt yet not too colorful, very harmonious!
I love all of your work and watch your videos and learn so much from you. However, this is a Masterpiece. You are an amazing artist. Thank you for sharing.
ReplyDeleteTruly incredible! Thank you for sharing the progress of this piece of art. Oh, and what is the song you use in the YouTube video? Very pretty as well...
ReplyDeleteOh my... IMPRESSIVE!!!! I simply love it!
ReplyDeleteSeeing this gives me goosebumps! In a good way, of course. I LOVE LOVE LOVE it and I think it's one of the best artworks of yours.
ReplyDeleteabsolutely amazing
ReplyDeleteHi Aniko, what a Great work of art! Very Impressive. I have only just discovered your blog and look forward to reading your archives and watching your youtube video's.
ReplyDeleteAllee
This is a wonderful work of art. You do not need to worry about people copying your piece since nobody could do it as well as you can. I'm glad you have shared your techniques for everyone to see and learn from. I do the same with wood, so I know how long it takes, and I know how nice it is when I know I am helping others to learn more about our crafts.
ReplyDeleteIt is a real work of art and totally stunning, Aniko! I loved being able to see how you built it up and read about your thought processes. Such talent! Thank you!
ReplyDeleteI think this counts as a tutorial.....process is as important as technique.. Truly beautiful.
ReplyDeleteVery beautiful! Do you know how long this took from start to finish? I doubt that I will ever be able to create something as stunning, but I get a little frustrated sometimes because everything seems to take me so long to create, right down to a single bead because I try to be a perfectionist and get upset if they do not look exactly as I pictured them to look before starting.
ReplyDeleteIt usually does take a couple of days to finish :) I think it was two for this one as I dived in for many many hours into it! As for a perfection.. look at yourself in the mirror. Are you perfect? Am I perfect? No! Eyes and ears on different levels, nostrils different sizes, one leg longer than other, one foot flatter than other.. But all that makes us unique and individual! Makes us US! :) I also have some little dust bits in my clay sometimes, I also sometimes have fingerprints... but fingerprints are artist's signature :) Makes it look more handmade :) So not to worry! Time, patience and accuracy will come. Just practice and pray before you start your work :) I do :)
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