The bird is made up of several gourds. I tried to find gourds that fit the shape of the wings and tail feathers. After the gourd pieces were cut from these other gourds, I carved, fitted and glued them in place with Weldbond glue. The pieces are held in place with tape until the glue dries. Painters tape leaves the gourd clean when removed.
Left two photos
Paper clay is used to fill in any gaps and to add the feathered edge.
The legs are made from 1/4 inch copper tubing. They are bent then fastened into body with all purpose putty. Later, I covered the legs with paper clay.
Holes were then drilled into the end of the head and wooden skewers were added to form an armature. This was then covered with paper clay to form the beak. (Above three photos and bottom, left photo)
All of my painting is done with acrylics. I drilled 1/4 inch holes in my wooden base and inserted the copper tubing legs. At that point, the bird had no feet. I formed the feet from wire and covered the wire with paper clay. I then fastened the feet to the legs with paper clay.
The finished bird with wooden base stands 22 inches high.
