The caged bird sings!

So I promised a long time ago that I would post photos of my recent sculpture, and like the jerk I am, I’m only just now getting around to it.  But here they are.  I was to use the form of a box creatively and symbolically and somehow make it a self-portrait.  I interpreted “box” very creatively and decided to make a bird cage.  I’m not sure that it’s only a self-portrait now, because I feel that it could be interpreted in different ways.  I realize that this kind of metaphor is a little on the trite side, but I feel like my careful craftsmanship trumps triteness.  

The cage itself is all wood, and fortunately, I had an edge as far as wood is concerned since my dad is a carpenter and has taught me more or less all I know about carpentry.  It’s stained in PolyShades.  The chain is handmade from 19 gauge wire wrapped around a flat pen and cut and assembled into links. 

The birds are sculpted by hand out of Sculpey clay, which I fired in the oven and painted in acrylic.  The biggest bird has that beautiful sheen because I painted it with various glazes of what’s called interference paint over other colors.  Basically, it’s really shiny and expensive.  (One tube was 12 bucks!)  It looks one color in one direction and that color’s complement in the other direction.

I feel like this is the most poignant angle.  The lighting, too, really enhances the idea of the bird struggling against the owls, which represent darkness and the desire to remain in darkness and drag others into it.  But this bird will fly away soon!