I needed the symbol of an Albatross to take up to a group in Auckland, and rather than a picture - to represent our Southern Group - I thought a needle-sculpted Albatross might be interesting to try. (It will be interesting travelling with a 28 inch wide x 18 inch long bird!) Do you wrap it, or put it in a suitcase?
I had no idea if it would work. I just drew a shape - copying off google images, but there are no really good closeups, so made a good guess. It's not perfect and who knows if the dimensions are right? I know the tail is not right - too wide, but it looks like an albatross, so that's near enough for me!
Needle-sculpting the wings was a mission and hard on my fingers, but I am pleased with the results. Once I drew in the features and painted the wings it looked more like it!
For an armature, I used a thin wire coat hanger with the hook straightened and wrapped in masking tape. The end part of the wings has a bamboo skewer wrapped in batting. Stuffed, the wings were quite round, and I didn't know if needle-sculpting them would produce the results I was looking for, but it worked well enough!
I am pleased and glad I have made it! You never know what you can do till you try!
3 comments:
This is absolutely stunning. I have been thinking of needle-sculpting animals but wasn't sure how to begin. This post has given me inspiration to try. I don't know what an albatross looks like in person, but I will say that when I first saw your post I thought I was looking at a real bird. Beautiful work.
Hi Karen!Thank you for your very helpful comment! I do hope you will have a go at needle sculpting animals! I have never seen a live one either, but have seen them in pictures and in Museums. I had to guess the size. the first tail was too big, ao had to re-do it to get the proportions right. I am pleased you are inspired to try!
Wow, you did such a great job sculpting and painting this bird. Have fun taking him with you on the trip.
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