Spotted Elk - Finished

At last!   I've been working on this one since around August last year.  A number of problems I won't mention have really slowed down the output  down at the shop but hopefully things will get back to normal soon. There is still one BIG project we have on the calendar during February that will keep us occupied but I'll talk about that one in another post.

Spotted Elk turned out to be a really nice piece.  With the walnut base he stands just over "14 inches so he will certainly command his own space when displayed.  A friend sent me a photo of the war-shirt beading design which I'm always on the lookout for.  The only real difficulty in doing it was the thin stripe on each edge.  To do that I waited until the painting was sealed and then taped it off.  Worked out great.  The lance was made from a piece of carved dowel with a pounded metal point tired in place with a wrap.  I also wrapped heavy cord around the fur areas on the shaft and then covered that with texturing material.  I really like the result as it looks just like course fur when painted. The shield design is from a photo I took of one at the Prairie Edge store in Rapid City (http://prairieedge.com/) last summer.  The earrings are made from pounded aluminum flashing with a copper wire loop to hold them to the ear.

So, now it's on to the next project, and like I said, it's a BIG one.  As always, your comments are welcome and appreciated.  More photos in the Gallery.