The parts were too good to throw away - I knew I should do something with them and after mulling over several possibilities I chose to do my old favorite sculpture medium, papier mache.
Rolled up newspaper inserted into the hollows of the limbs connected them to the head and torso. After several sessions of layering on wet gluey newspaper strips, it was strong enough to support the whole.
Cradling "him" in my arms I brought him into the house for the next phase: attire to mask the awkward transitions from clay to papier mache.
I used a rag rug technique to make the fluffy bib the baby wears, and remembering the African fetishes that I have seen, I added safety pins and odds and ends from my sewing supplies.
Throughout the process the baby smiled placidly. Perhaps this little one is, for me, a spiritual being or represents one. It symbolizes the possibility of rebirth, transformation, the continuity of life.
