Selene, the moon.

The middle of October in a Somerset woodland and a broken night’s sleep saw me looking out into an indigo night sky. It was just in time to see the moon appearing from between white clouds. Encircled by many stars, Orion’s Belt glittered underneath. Needless to say, my breath was taken.

The birth of Venus, sketch, from a painting by Alexandre Cabanel.

Selene has most ancient sculptures either showing her with a crescent moon (lying on its back upon her head) or has some hairstyle alluding to it. However, my piece is also referencing Alexandre Cabanel’s painting of the Birth of Venus. I liked the laconic, yet emotional pose shown in the painting which has a pose with a serene feel to like the moon.

The hot August and milder October of 2022 saw beautiful moon rises here; the first in the south over haystacks in August and later a harvest moon rising over the east field in October.

Lack of clay dictated the small size of this sculpture, and it has been all the more troublesome for it. Finer detailing was tricky, and many times employed the use of a pin tool.

Here Selene’s long hair describes soft moonlight and her face represents that of the moon, standing back slightly aghast, as in one of my favourite Ted Hughes’ poems, ‘The Full Moon and Little Frieda‘;

“The moon has stepped back like an artist gazing amazed at a work, That points at him amazed.”

The moon does indeed appear to have an open mouth, maybe amazed or singing the night through?

If possible, I find it best to finish off a sculpture outside. The half-light of a room is no match for the sun and bits thought finished suddenly jump out as fantastic anomalies. Above, a pin tool is used to take out tiny bits of clay which attached themselves when wet to the main body, the nose was sanded down a touch and Selene’s choker was tidied up. The problem with working with clay at this scale is not only that it is fiddly, but any clay added to one side which has more water than the other will dry differently. A symmetric and even tone can dry to that of a gargoyle. It is true her face has changed a little with the firings in the end.