Layl's Silly Milly Art

Layl McDill Polymer Clay Sculpture Gallery

Even Mermaids Need Vacations

Inspiration- This is one of those pieces where it is hard to say exactly how the idea came about.  I was really on a roll this past summer (2011) creating and ideas were popping out like crazy.  The image of a mermaid with flowing scarves came into my head and some how she ended up with a suitcase full of bikinis (they are tiny but I imagine that they must expand when water is added).  Then there was the octopus with all her beauty products.  Maybe it was my big road trip to California that made my subconscious think about a traveling mermaid!  My other favorite part is the hat- my daughter Elliot was in the studio the day I was starting to create this piece and she declared- "I will make her hat".  I hadn't thought about her needing a hat but it made sense!  Elliot made the fabulous rainbow cane that I used on her hat and the fun flower that "boings" out from it.

Techinique- I used a lot of armatures in this piece.  The trickiest part was her scarves.  I had wires coming out of her neck which go through each scarf.  I then I added the clay around the wire and bent it the way I wanted the scarves to hang.  She barely fit in the oven - her tail and the suitcase were attached afterwards.

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