Out of Africa : Another Bonus Pottery Adventure

I've had an extra bag of Little John clay calling out to me from the garage ever since I finished that Bob Kingsmill workshop.  Tonight I couldn't ignore it any longer.  I was watching a movie with the family, but had to go play with clay on the kitchen counter.  This is the result.  What do you think?

The idea came from a pottery studio in Coombs BC.  I visited there for the first time last month, when my 15-year-old was running in the BC Provincial Track Meet in Nanaimo BC.  The potter there had made some african ladies which looked like a textured sheet draped in a shape of a body, with a turbaned head added on top.  I should have taken a photo at the time, but I remember thinking that I would need to try that some time.

Well, I was going to make an African lady, but I think he turned out to be an African man instead.  Anyhow, I'm pretty pleased with the result.  It will be fun thinking how to glaze and decorate him.  I think the Coombs ladies were raku fired, from what I remember, so they were iridescent.  I think I will just try for colorful.  We'll see.

Here's a few more angles :

I decided to add my signature stamp at the back corner, so added a plug of clay on top of the sculpture, so the imprint would show clearly.

He should stand okay, even after I remove the folded cardboard and newspaper, which is holding him up until he dries.

Making the first hand was easy.  Making the second one the same size was really difficult.  They may still be a bit different sized, but then again, the human body is never perfectly symmetrical, is it?