Traveling Turtle and his Fairy Passenger

Hello Art Fans!
Some of you may have seen the progress photos I posted on my Facebook page of these two little friends, but I have just recently added the finishing touches to this piece so I thought it would be nice to write a blog about my artistic journey from start to finish :)
It started with an idea; I had sculpted this small polymer clay traveling turtle last year.

I enjoyed him so much that I wanted to use the idea for a larger piece for a gallery display. So I got to work on sculpting another turtle. I wanted him to be as realistic as possible, that made the task super time consuming but also a fun experience with new techniques.
I started with his shell, filling the interior with a ball of tin foil to make his body lighter. Then I added different lines and scratches to the clay to make his shell look weathered.

I rolled out the polymer clay as thin as I could and then cut small squares or circles to make the textures on his skin.

Put all the pieces together and painted the last few details to the little guy...now that looks like a turtle. :)

 I sculpted a few things for him to carry on his back, some rolled up blankets, a few foresty treats like acorns, gourds and mushrooms, then I added other trinkets and moss to complete the look.

Now this sculpture would not be complete without a small traveling companion to keep this terrapin from being lonely. So I started working on a fairy rider for our little friend.

Gave the little pixie some hair, clothes and wings and she was ready to head out wherever fate would...slowly take them :)

These two will be displayed in the gallery of the up coming Dragon Can Art Show that I will be attending in September, so make sure to stop by and see the little duo.

Thank you for reading, have a great day!
~Caralyn