Owls (b.28 September 2009)

So here was an interesting experiment. I've been thinking about owls for quite a while now, and so I ended up devoting the best part of a day seeing what worked, and more frequently, what didn't. I see these very much as a work in progress. I love the simple shape, and using a pen lid works well to define the eyes. This is a departure from my usual style, although I've kept the beads for eyes, and there's something about the simplicity of the shape which really appeals.

I used a cutter to make the breast markings, and you'll also see these markings on the contrasting wings. I had originally intended to have the beaks sticking out more perpendicularly, but at the last minute, I decided to smoothe them down. I'll play around with that some more later. The large owl is 2.5cm tall and 3cm wide. The smaller owls are 2cm x 2cm.

I had a go at some blue owls too (the rainbow theme is pretty strong with me - it you're going for stylised, why not go the whole hog?!) I mixed some pale blue clay, and used the dark blue clay to create the wings and beak to have a contrasting colour. And as I had a scrap of the dark blue clay left, I made a Wee Owl just to see how he would turn out. And do you know, I think he's my favourite one! He measures 1.5cm x 1.5cm, and instead of adding wings, I used a cutter to create feather-type markings. Again, it's the simplicity of the shape that appeals, but I don't think these wee fellow will be gracing the craft fairs any time soon! Would be interested to hear what people think of this new experiment.

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