Balancing act

The hip and waist assembled for balance

So far the hardest part has been to drill the holes through the Apoxie and line them up correctly. That sent me back to examine very carefully old unfinished puppets from Dwiggins archive. I learned a valuable lesson: the holes must be drilled BEFORE you shape the form (DUH!), otherwise lining up and holding the shape correctly in different axis becomes almost impossible. That means that the use of Apoxie for main body parts is not the best solution, since it would be a real waste to create first a block and then cut and sand it down.

That said I am very pleased with the look and feel of those two parts, which strike me as very "Japanese" in some way. The only un-japanese thing about them is the misalignment and lack of precision of some of the through-holes on the back due to the reasons explained above. No excuses, (Julie Taymor would be very upset).

The fondest memory I have after enjoying many days watching the construction of a Japanese Tea House by a master carpenter was how every single piece of assemblage, including those that would never be seen by anybody, were as perfect as the main "public" pieces. The sculptural quality and the loving care and treatment of the most humble of materials left a permanent impression on me. I have a long way to go.

Next in line is to attach the legs which are already temporarily assembled and test the lower body for problems. If everything goes well then I'll shape the legs to give the Creator that sophisticated look that I am sure it craves:)