Sherwood
I’m often asked how long it takes to make each of my sculptures. To be honest, I don’t completely know. I rarely begin a piece and finish it before moving on to another. Sometimes, I have to wait for inspiration for just the right eyes. Other times it might be just the right decoration. I usually have 3-6 pieces in process at a time. So, it’s not uncommon for a piece to take months to find that special something they are missing. And, then there’s Sherwood. Poor Sherwood lingered for almost 18 months. before I finally finished him.
In Sherwood’s case, after adding his thick and luscious tail, he seemed some how out of balance. It turned out, he needed a hat. And, it couldn’t be just any hat. It had to be a Robin-Hood-esque hat with a big, fluffy ostrich feather. Once I had that decided, it would be several weeks before I had the feathers. Then it required a few tries before perfecting a miniature bycocket (the actual name of a Robin-Hood type of hat) that would fit upon Sherwood’s head.
As of now, Sherwood has the distinction of taking the longest to finish. Though, I don’t think we can blame him for not telling me he wanted a hat sooner. A lot happened last year and while he was a bit unhappy about having to wait so long for his hat and feathers, he remained safe and dry in our home while the world around us turned a bit up-side-down.
Sherwood’s coat of many colors was primarily made with wool rug yarn. The yarn was from a kit that accompanied a class that another fiber artist was teaching. His raised collar lets everyone know he’s one cool bird and not to be messed with.
Sherwood is one of the few birds, that I’ve made that has strong ties to a particular species or family of birds. He’s fashioned after a pheasant. Pheasants are generally larger birds with long, and often colorful tails; and relatively small beaks. Peacocks might have all the fame for their tail feathers, but, if you’ve ever been lucky enough to see a pheasant, you know their tail feathers are quite impressive too. Bycocket hats were popular during the 13th to 16 centuries and often sported a pheasant tail feather as decoration. Maybe it’s just me, but It would seem wrong somehow to decorate one pheasant with another pheasant’s tail feathers. So, Sherwood’s hat is decorated with a pair of ostrich feathers that were stitched together to make it fuller and fluffier.
