Crowned Crane progress, part 6: Final touches

Now it's finally time to complete the crane's face and add a few final embellishments.
This is my favorite part of sculpting, because now the bird's individual personality starts to reveal itself. Continue reading to learn more.

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This is the point where I stop trying to approximate reality. After all, I'm making an artistic interpretation, not an exact duplicate.
Now I can release control of the process, and operate on pure instinct. It's almost as if the bird is telling me what to do.
​If this is your first visit to my blog series about making cranes, you might want to start at the beginning.

I became so absorbed that I forgot to photograph the steps. So I'll just describe them here.
​1. I strung small silk flowers onto each crown filament, and glued them to the scalp to disguise the bare clay.
2. I glued white and red-painted lace motifs to the sides of the head to approximate a crowned crane's natural markings.
3. I sewed on blue buttons for the eyes, and glued on black rhinestones for the pupils. 
4. I glued false eyelashes around the eyes.
5. I made a wattle by sewing a piece of red-painted lace to the chin.
6. Just for fun, I glued beads to the ends of the crown filaments.
7. And then there's that black powder-puff thing on the forehead.  I made it from a couple of store-bought pompoms and some bits of black silk flowers, which I sewed to the top of the beak.

8. And then I glued on some platinum rhinestones in the loopy places of the lace.

9. And added a beaded bracelet to one ankle.

And here she is, at last. I wasn't sure until the end whether this bird would be a boy or girl. But now that it's done, it seems obviously female.
I've decided to name her Lulu. Don't ask me why.
​You can find more photos of Lulu in the Gallery. 
​Thanks for following along with my creative musings. Please feel free to leave a comment. I would appreciate your ideas.

More on making the crowned crane
​Crowned crane, getting started
​Crowned crane, Part 1: Making legs
Crowned crane, Part 2: Building the body
Crowned crane, Part 3: Feathers
Crowned crane, Part 4: Neck and shoulders
Crowned crane, Part 5: The dreaded crown
Crowned crane, Part 6: Finishing touches

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