Once I had the life mask of Rob finished, I was ready to start the sculpture. My first step was to do a full size drawing of the bear to make certain that I had the proportions correct.

Gummi Þor had already done a sculpture to demonstrate how the proportions would have to change from the drawing in order to accomodate a human. Using the sculpture as a reference point, I created the large drawing. (I took a picture of this, but the pencil lines didn’t show up. Sorry.)

With that information in hand, I started sculpting. My challenge here is to make it look as much like the drawing as possible while meeting the requirements of fitting on a human head. I started by placing the bear’s eyes, two semi-spheres which I put over the life cast’s eyes. Using these and the life cast’s mouth as my guidepoints I started sculpting. I sculpted the Polar Bear’s head out of clay. In this case I used waterbased clay. Everyone has perferences on clay but I personally like the feel of water-based better. It’s a textural thing.

As I sculpted I kept the drawing of the character open along with several pictures of polar bears. This one, in particular, was my reference. I like the expression on his face. My clients want the bear to be young, curious, and trustworthy.

I deviated from the drawing by making the nose a little shorter and the distance from the nose to the bottom of the chin smaller. Both of these are indicators of youth. On a more practical note, because my mouth/eye distance was locked in, there was a limit to how thick I could make the nose. Which meant that if I extended the nose out from the face as far as in the drawing it would taper to a needle-like point. I didn’t think this really expressed the huggability we are going for. So, shorter and broader.

Here is the finished sculpture. My next step is to cut the chin off and do some detail work on the inside of the lips. I’ll cast the chin and face in fiberglass separately. I’ll also remove the nose itself and replace it with one made of foam covered with leather so that it will feel right if a child touches it. The ears will also be be made of foam and fur so they are soft to the touch. The final head will look larger than this because of the fur, which will add about two inches to the apparent size of the head.

Oh, and if you are curious about the spoon in the lower right corner of the picture, I use it to smooth the clay. By rubbing it in circles across the surface of clay you can burnish the clay and make a smooth surface. It doesn’t actually matter what the surface is like for this one, because the whole head will be covered in fur, but I find it easier to tell if I’ve made the head lopsided if the bumpy bits are distracting me.

I finished my Doctor Who story somewhere over Greenland. Here’s a picture out the window when I finished. Every other time I’ve flown over it has been winter and it has been solid white. I’m astounded at how bleak it looks now.

The small white bits, which from the plane looked like styrofoam spread over the ocean, are actually ice. Imagine; twenty-four hours of sunlight, and ice is still floating in the ocean. That’s crazy cold. I saw nothing except rock and snow surrounded by ocean. Yet people live there. I don’t have any understanding of how they can survive.

My seatmates and I stared out the window the entire time we passed over it, astounded by its fierce beauty. I remembered Slartybartfast in Hitchhiker’s Guide and his pride in creating fjords. They are beautiful, but I wouldn’t want to live there.

Still, I did feel like I had been given a reward for finishing the story. I told Mr. Savile that it would be 2000 words, and it clocked in at 1984. Now I just have to edit the thing and send it off. Anyone up for reading and responding? It helps if you’re familiar with Doctor Who.

I just finished another story. This one is short, 1100 words. God. It feels so good to write. I had this conversation with Ken Scholes the other day, and realized that despite my connection with Codex and Shimmer, I miss having someone to shoot the breeze with about a story. We talked about “Ginger” and the story unlocked for me. Then I hit Codex and Hatrack and figured out where I was going with that. After I finished it, I was so jazzed that I just cranked out another story.

Have I mentioned that it feels good?

So. Things I have learned about myself and writing. Some of these are recent, some are not.

1. If I don’t read, I don’t write.
2. At some point in my creative process, I need people. I’m a performer, and it doesn’t go away just because I’m writing.
3. I need stimulation; talking to people, movies, cooking, hiking…anything to refuel, or I don’t write.
4. I can’t write when I’m angry. My brain gets eaten with “I should have saids…”

There’s probably more, but those were the ones that struck me. Oh, and when I edit, I have to read it outloud or I miss really stupid stuff like “She picked up a a coal scuttle.” Geez. Anyway, here’s the new story’s opening.

Locked In

     Samuel sat on the balcony, enjoying the fading light of day. When the respirator pushed air into his lungs, he savored the salt brine from the sea. He tried to pretend that he had some control over breath, that he chose to inhale, but it was a fantasy as idle as wishing that he could adjust his own chair.
     For a moment, his nurse’s hand interrupted his field of vision. She paused with her hand on his open eyelid, and then pushed down so he could blink. Before Amyotropic Lateral Sclerosis had locked him in his own body, Samuel had told her that he wanted a warning before blinking.
     It would be nice to thank her, but he had lost the last of his voluntary abilities months ago.
     ”Dad!” Jacob’s voice behind him startled Samuel but he lacked the release of flinching.