Posted by | January 1, 2020

Nine Ladies Dancing

On the ninth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me…

A portion of every ornament sale will benefit Rotary International’s Disaster Relief Fund.

ORNAMENT GIVEAWAY

Above: A terra-cotta prototype drying out for the kiln receives experimentation with three knots.  A true love knot is tied at the top of the bell.

A peek inside of the initial two-piece plaster mould.
The bell as the original model nears completion.
The general placement of the final three figures.
The ladies are: love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. The thread or banner that appeared seems to originate near one figure: she must be love. Three more figures to map out, then nine to refine…
After studying basic bell anatomy, a yogurt cup is used to begin the form.
To Greek vases, to the Shakers, to the childhood zither with its broken strings (which, when touched, seemed to echo through another’s soul): nothing. Approximately nine minutes into clay brainstorming (pictured), a musician walked by and said, “What about a bell?”