Elephant and baby Sculpture

elephant-and-baby-sculpture

I was recently commissioned to make an elephant and baby sculpture for a lady who had just returned from a fantastic safari at The Bushcamp Company’s Mfuwe Lodge in Zambia. She had seen my sculptures featured in the lodge and wanted a special animal sculpture to remind her of her wonderful experience. One of the animal sculptures I made for the lodge was of Wonky Tusk and her baby, Wellington, who were among the local elephants that walked through the lobby to feast on the mango tree. I have experienced this a number of times and it never fails to amaze.

Mfuwe-elephant-sculptures s

I have spent a lot of time observing elephants in the wild. Watching babies interacting with their mothers and baby elephants playing together is truly delightful. Very young baby elephants are rarely further than a trunk’s length from their mother and observing the tenderness between mother and child is very moving.

elephant-sculpture

It takes me around thirty hours to make an elephant sculpture. My initial work focusses on body structure. Then I apply wrinkles and lots of them! I particularly enjoy capturing the interaction between animals. In this case depicting the intimate relationship between mother and baby was very rewarding. I always send my clients daily work-in-progress photos so they can see their animal sculpture commissions slowly come to life. I asked my Facebook followers to suggest a name for the elephant sculptures and Themba, meaning hope and trust, seemed to fit the bill perfectly.

They have arrived! The are just so beautiful they made me cry, in a good way of course! Thank you so much. They are just wonderful. Pride of place now in my new home.

elephant and baby sculpture