Mini Guinea Pigs!

23rd January 2013
A new wee creature has arrived in the Quernus menagerie - the Mini Guinea Pig! Up until now, I have made guinea pigs on commission, and they have been fairly large at about 8cm long, with textured fur, like these three commissioned by Erika in Denmark.

Because of their size, and the length of time they took to make they, I didn't take on too many commissions, although I did enjoy making these wedding cake toppers last March for Katharine (yes, the one on the left is wearing a kilt!)

The Mini Guinea Pigs, on the other hand, are much smaller and more compact, and therefore don't take quite as long to make. They are about 4cm long, and can be made in any guinea pig colour. 

They are entirely sculpted by hand, so each one is unique. The markings are added by cutting out the required shape from a thinly rolled out sheet of clay, and then carefully blending to create a seamless finish. The eyes are black onyx beads, which gives them a real spark of life.

I've even made a Skinny Pig, and I'd like to introduce Wee Haribo, based on a wonderful skinny pig looked after by Claire who runs a small animal rescue in Mid Wales (you can find out more about her amazing work here).

I created the skin tones using variously tinted translucent clay, and his white fluffy bits on his nose were added afterwards with white acrylic paint.

I'm now working on rough-haired and long-haired guinea pig designs, and will give updates once these are finished. I'm also looking at other mini designs - rats, hamsters, bunnies - so expect to see more Minis arriving soon! And here's a sneak preview of the Wee Bunnies I've been working on.

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