Moon lady ready for take-off

This moon woman is just about ready for take-off. I'll start the mold very soon. I am completing this piece for a client who wants it cast in stainless steel. I've never done stainless before and I am stoked!

You can watch a cool time-lapse video of the complete modeling process on YouTube. I feel overly fastidious when I watch it, so be prepared!

My clients Reg and Wendy wanted to go for a Henry Moore-inspired piece with voluminous forms and some abstraction. I am enjoying this as it is stretching me toward full and heavy shapes, whereas I normally do lean and tall in my figures.

Here is the picture of a Henry Moore figure they like, hoping it could influence the design for this commission.

Then they came to my studio and we worked together on a small maquette for their own reclining lady. As I sculpted away, Reg and Wendy kept guiding me more towards a dream-state figure. This is what we came up with and you can see why I am calling her "Moon Lady."

Interestingly, as Reg and Wendy were deciding whether to have her cast in stainless or not, I came across this image of a stainless steel woman at the Heard Museum in Phoenix. I guess the idea of a dreaming floating lady is not new! 

So here are some images of the enlarged clay model which I just completed tonight. She is 22 inches wide and about 9 inches tall and will repose on the mantel of my client's home.