School is out! I passed political science, HORRAY! So now for the summer agenda. I plan on finishing the dragon statue that I started so many years ago. It will be done this summer for sure. I have already begun working on it and I have made good progress so far. There are still repairs to be made to the feet and a seam at the lower torso as well, but these are technical details that wont take too long once I start on them. The big concern is the face. What will he look like? So far he has had about 5 different faces that have all been incomplete. The one he has now is about to be broken off too as it does not match his body very well. I will figure this out, and it will be done this summer. As far as the technical aspects, I am wondering what material to do certain repairs with. I have been using Sculpey clay for the entire process, but since he has been damaged so many times and repaired in layers, there are some seams that pose a difficult challenge. The structure has a braided wire skeleton that keeps him fairly stable, but some major stress points have sheared through the clay leaving me with a wobbly leg here and there with an unforgiving core that will not shift. If left alone for too long (like it has been) the wiggle room causes chips in the brittle clay. I have thought of using an A-B type putty for some parts that will bond to the sculpey without having to put it into an oven. Epoxy is another option that I am considering, since it can fill a gap in the clay to bond it back together where it has sheared around the skeleton. I might use a combination of things to fix these issues as well. Time will tell here. I figure the experience that I am gaining in this project alone will be valuable to me, as I will be hopefully taking my first sculpture class in the fall semester at UNT. Either way, he will be finished and ready to mold and recast so that I can finally market this creation. It will be a fun summer! (If only I had funds to keep up with my living expenses along the way)