Sculptural Sustained Investigation #3

This sculpture is the third in my sustained investigation series. For this one I chose to do an Araripe Manakin which is another endangered bird. I had never heard of this bird before I did this project and that just goes to show that it is in need of protection. More people should know about it and appreciate it. Its current conservation status is critically endangered with the population still declining. They are in desperate need of help and it won't be long until there are no more of these pretty, little birds out there.

To make this bird I used sculpey clay and acrylic paint. I created the body of the bird out of the sculpey clay and then once it had been baked I added paint to create the appearance of feathers, highlights, and shadows which are are hard to do with just the clay.

The process to make it was very simple. I made the basic shape of the body and then added the eyes, red cap, wings, and tail in that order. Then I baked it for 15 minutes and allowed it to cool. Finally I put the finishing details of it with paint. It's not my best work but it still looks like an Araripe Manakin.