I Got Fever And The Only Way To Cure It Is More Sea-Cow

I have returned with more progress on Hugh Manatee. There has been a lot of new things to contribute to Hugh.

First off I have been doing some studies of Hugh in other mediums. I did a sculpture of a more realistic manatee head and the result were incredible.

Manatee Head by: Thomas Sigwalt

 I like how the sculpture turned out. I figured it was best that I stopped while he was a head. 


You may have noticed that the manatee head is two different colors. The reason for the two colors is that I had to make the head of the manatee out of two kinds of clay. I used red clay for the outside of the manatee head and I used stoneware for the mouth.

Originally I made the head with just stoneware, however, I missed one important detail. Manatees have no necks and I made the stoneware manatee head with a neck. I had the choice of redoing everything or build around the mistake.

The reason why I did not use stoneware as the outer section for the manatee was a matter of grog. Grog is the rocky parts of the clay that hold the clay together. The more grog the stronger the piece is structurally and will tend to crack less. Stoneware has less grog then red clay making it risky to build large artworks with it. Red clay was simply a safer choice.

Next I want to cover something else I have been working on in conjunction to Hugh Manatee. I took a picture to Illustrate a point. 

Hugh's Desk by: Thomas Sigwalt

My next plans for Hugh Manatee is to make a claymation. I had so much fun making the clay manatee sculpture I figured why not continue making clay figures of Hugh. I am using modeling clay to make the figures so the clay does not dry up.

As I have stated before I have returned. I took a break do to the change in my schedule and do to a family conflict. Expect a more regular posting schedule from now on. Thanks for your support.