I thought this pose would be structurally challenging as the whole weight needed to be supported by the small ankles. That problem was easily solved by placing many supports as you see in the photos. The most difficult part was to come up with right body proportions. I attempted to fix it, but still the deltoids look too big, and the face, too small. She does not look like a petite Asian woman.... :-(
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I worked on the composition of next sculpture, which will incorporate painting in the background. As "round" pre-stretched canvas come only in certain sizes, I gave more time in the preparation, so that the finished piece would go well with a 20" round canvas that I was going to purchase for this project. I will sleep over this tonight. It will be a lot easier if I return to the original idea of using a rectangular canvas for the background.
My first attempt to combine a painting with a sculpture is making progress. Her hands will hold an image of water, which I intend to make out of transparent hot glue or epoxy. She is certainly not a model beauty, but she has a healthy body and hopefully you see her inner fullfilment.
 Thank you Claudia and Lynnette. Taking your advice, I have decided to leave the original concept of this sculpture the way it is. While re-attaching her to the paper crane hanger, I changed the title from SKY to LITTLE MESSENGER OF PEACE. She flies with my humble wishes to spread joy and peace in this world.
This was made during my last sculpting class, while demonstrating slab-building techniques, incorporating wires (buttons) and paper towels (skirt) in the figure. She initially held an abstract wire sculpture in her hand, but it was stuck to a container in the kiln. Its replacement was a spiral shell. It in turn decided her colors and the title MESSAGE FROM THE SEA.
This girl was sculpted 5 years ago when I was a novice sculptor. I was then scared to fire it above cone 05 (about 1900˚F). I now know it can be fired about 200˚F higher to make it more durable without loosing its integrity. While preparing her for re-firing, I thought I could put her on a toy horse rather than hanging her under paper cranes. What do you think?
 During the summer, I was engaged in home improvement and gardening. Finally last month, I returned to creative work. You might remember I sculpted one similar to this at the beginning of this year. This time textures were added to the surface, and it will be hung on the wall in front of a painting. It will be interesting to incorporate different media into my ceramic work. Please look forward to it.
 The bust of my mother is also completed. I chickened out from emailing her a photo of this sculpture at the greenware stage, as I did not think she would appreciate herself portrayed with wrinkles and misfit dentures. With colors added, this piece resembles to her now. Her delightfulness is well captured. I am going to send this photo to her.
 My friend named this sculpture "Being." She is "being" peaceful, centered, and authentic. This expresses the state of being that I wish to have. The representation of water is now lifted up slightly, giving the sculpture an impression of floating.
Following a seasoned sculptor's suggestion, a black backdrop and dramatic lighting were used photographing this piece. I think the whole atmosphere successfully brought out the feeling I tried to convey. I feel like cheating, though, as the photos look better than the actual piece. I intend to learn more about this kind of photo shooting techniques. It'll be interesting....
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