Clay animal figures

These animal figures were made in reaction to Byrons infatuation animals that lead him to have portraits commissioned of his dogs and even have a bear roaming on the grounds.

I wanted to test out how well the dug clay could be worked with my hands into a sculptural form and my first try was the dog on the left, I tried to capture the basic features but I think it looks very cat-like. On the right I wanted to make something that suggested a bear shape but it looks a lot like a pig, and the figure in the middle is a really reduced, almost abstract animal form that could be interpreted as a bear.

For my next attempt at a dog I tried to really emphasise the most defining dog features like the arch of the chest leading to the narrow hips, and it's much more easily identifiable than my first try so I'm happy with the improvement.

These pieces were inspired by the Indigenous peoples' carved pendants I was looking at recently.

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