A dear friends family reached out to me and asked if I could make him a sculpture as a surprise graduation gift for him. These are my favorite requests as it feels very special to be able to create something with someone I love in mind!

After talking with her for a while she asked about an owl as they used to listen for them when he was a child. I got excited at this idea because I had been wanting to create more birds but also I had specifically wanted to make a barn owl. When I suggested it she was immediately in!

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This piece was very challenging! Not only because of the detailed talons and patterns on the wings but mostly because the head had to be completed fully in the round. Luckily they are mostly white and gold which gave me far more freedom with shaping as I didn't need to worry about coloring after shaping. Normally I do all my coloring first since it is done using heat and then I cold shape the piece. But this was far too complex to cold shape. Also I had to weld a lot around the face to make it look right which normally would add thickness which would mean that the coloring would differ as the thicker parts heat at a different rate than the rest. Anyway getting the cone of the face to look right was the biggest challenge with getting the front chest plate to look right with the feathers and hiding seems as a close second. But once this Owl all came together I was very happy with the final product!

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This piece is safe to be kept outdoors!