This was a piece that sold over the Halloween show, but I wanted to post it and talk about it a little bit. It is a departure from the last posting because, with that one, I knew the concept and the look I wanted to achieve from start to finish. But with this rabbit, I wasn't quite sure what she was going to look like until I was almost done. I knew I liked this quizzical pose, with the body turned sort of awkwardly, but as I was working one night, the clay was a little too wet to support the weight I was adding on top, and she started to sag downward. Hence the big butt and pregnant belly, which I had no idea that she would have, but once I saw it, that became a great element to her story. (More the belly than the butt.) After that her story took shape around this element. I decided she needed a strong, erect posture, hinting towards some pride and determination. The ear pose reflects this as well. Her eyes convey nothing of her inward emotions, just looking back at her wagon to make sure everything is as it should be. Now, the wagon... I wasn't sure what she should be pulling until after she was completely done, but I settled on this as a way to convey her fortitude and emotional capacity. The wagon itself is a slapped together vessel with weird 'wooden' slats of all shapes and sizes, and rickety wheels helping it to teeter along. But the contents are all manner of little treasures I had collected while growing up, and I borrowed a few from friends who had done the same thing as kids. This was stuff like part of a honeycomb, a skeleton key to nothing, a cartoon character plastic ring, a broken light bulb, etc. To me, these things say, yes, this rabbit is a little crazy, but she also, for whatever reason, holds these things very dear and has plans for them in her (and the baby's) future.
I wish I had a few more detail shots to show you inside the wagon and some other views of momma rabbit, but this one is no longer mine so you'll just have to settle for my description.
