The Warrior

This is a work in air drying terracotta clay following an online course by the artist and sculptor, Cristina Cordova.

Here I learned how to hand-build a clay bust from a template and build up the facial features and hair to create my own interpretation of the brief.

This was a wonderful and eye-opening experience for me as I was truly fascinated with the process and how this 'person' seemed to magically emerge under my own hands.

Cristina demonstrated how to finish and add surface decoration and texture but again, left it very open to experimentation.

The result is this if I do say so myself, a beautiful and enigmatic piece that is highly charged with emotion. It was not my intention to assign a particular gender to this work, but now it is finished, I feel it leans more towards the feminine. Her demeanor and almost tribal markings on her 'skin' gives a feeling of serenity in the face of great adversity, hence the title.

Below are some close-up shots and a short video showing a 360-degree view of the finished work.

Details of the online course can be found via this link.