Chicken and mouse bas relief plaque commission

I was recently asked if I could make something in bronze for a wedding anniversary.
The only stipulation was that since the couple has children with the nick-names of chicken and mouse, that it feature a chicken and a mouse, and that I find a way to incorporate a certain poem.

I didn't have long at all to get it done, so I suggested a bas relief plaque since that would entail the least possible number of complications, yet still give me plenty of scope to come up with an attractive design.
Plus, I really like doing bas reliefs for some reason.

He was fine with whatever I thought would look good and left me up to my own devices.

Perfect, that's how I like it!

I tried a few things out and was liking this sort of thing...

Chicken and Mouse design for a bronze anniversary plaque

So next up, using the method for bas relief sculpture I've described before, I made the clay and hardboard original, leaving space for the poem...

If you are curious to see the whole bas relief process and tips for achieving a convincing effect of roundness in about 1/8" of vertical space, type 'bas relief' into the 'search this blog' bar (top left of the screen I think) for several step-by-step demonstrations.

I find that sculpey comes in handy for eyes since you can bake it hard and sculpt around it.

Chicken and Mouse bas relief plaque original clay detail

Chicken and Mouse bas relief plaque original clay detail

Chicken and Mouse bas relief plaque original clay detail

Chicken and Mouse bas relief plaque original clay

Chicken and Mouse bas relief plaque original clay detail

Next up, Lee, my trusty mold and wax man (sounds like a funny sort of man, doesn't it!) got busy doing his thing...

Here's the rubber mold. Certainly one of Lee's easier jobs mold making jobs!

The inside of the mold from which a wax plaque will be taken...

Chicken and Mouse plaque in wax (detail)

Tracing down the lettering...

Makes it *much* easier to do the lettering if you can see it clearly!

Hand lettered wax, ready for delivery to the foundry...

I'll show the rest of the process in my next post...