A prodigal is who you must be before traveling the path that makes the self free. This is the sculpture I learned on. It took many years of self-discovery. This piece represents feelings inside of me looking for a way to express themselves. The hands moved freely with no preconceived notion of what shape it would take. I started sculpting it in clay, but found wax to be more structural since I don't use armatures. I sculpted it hollow, making the wax an even depth throughout. The original was cast in bronze, and later a rubber mold was made for editions. I took a quick 20 minute course on metal finishing from a foundryman sent from Japan to the Johnson's Atelier to learn new casting methods. We met when I went to the foundry to pick up the bronze bust. Pulling me aside, he showed me how to use different chasing tools and which abrasives work best. I took this information and with it taught myself metal finishing. In addition to the sculpting the bust, I carved a base for it out of soapstone.
