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Description

Made of not one - but many! This life-sized rooster, standing 21 inches tall, is my largest Devil Claw Sculpture.

What is a Devil Claw? A devil claw is a seed pod that forms from the Unicorn Plant. This plant is a bush that is invasive in the southern US and is considered a weed. However, its dried seed pods, which form two sharp horns giving them their "devil claw" name, are excellent for crafting. They are thick and wood-like, very strong, with a ridged texture and can be cut and bent using wire cutters or shears. They can be used whole or split in half, which is what I used for my rooster. Here's a little more about the pods themselves:

fav.me/d1lfazt

Process:

~ All of the devil claw seed pods I grew myself. I have a large amount of pods and 5 different breeds that I've grown, all of which are different sizes and shapes. I had a large bin full ready for this sculpture!

~ First, the base structure of the rooster was made with gourds. I assembled the gourds together, 5 in all, to make an armature for the legs, body, tail, and neck.

~ I sculpted the toes and claws for stability and painted them to match the light brown of the gourd.

~ Then I spend countless hours cutting and splitting a mountain of devil claws. It took a lot of hand strength (and a few blisters) to cut them all apart. I clipped off most of the pod horns and used them for the rooster's long curling tail. I glued each pod to flow like feathers, layering them thickly until I had the shape I wanted. I used a few whole pods to assemble the head shape, layering even more halves on top. I was looking at photos of roosters to make sure I got its shape correct. I kept track of each pod, counting 214 in all.

~ The rooster's wattle is made of dried fan mushrooms that I harvested. His comb is a large dried white mushroom that I cut into shape. I added a quick brush of brown paint so it wasn't so stark white.

~ Painted acorn caps finished his eyes.

See more pics of him:

fav.me/dclfyi3

He stands 21 inches tall, 9 inches wide, and 16 inches deep.

Description

Made of not one - but many! This life-sized rooster, standing 21 inches tall, is my largest Devil Claw Sculpture.

What is a Devil Claw? A devil claw is a seed pod that forms from the Unicorn Plant. This plant is a bush that is invasive in the southern US and is considered a weed. However, its dried seed pods, which form two sharp horns giving them their "devil claw" name, are excellent for crafting. They are thick and wood-like, very strong, with a ridged texture and can be cut and bent using wire cutters or shears. They can be used whole or split in half, which is what I used for my rooster. Here's a little more about the pods themselves:

fav.me/d1lfazt

Process:

~ All of the devil claw seed pods I grew myself. I have a large amount of pods and 5 different breeds that I've grown, all of which are different sizes and shapes. I had a large bin full ready for this sculpture!

~ First, the base structure of the rooster was made with gourds. I assembled the gourds together, 5 in all, to make an armature for the legs, body, tail, and neck.

~ I sculpted the toes and claws for stability and painted them to match the light brown of the gourd.

~ Then I spend countless hours cutting and splitting a mountain of devil claws. It took a lot of hand strength (and a few blisters) to cut them all apart. I clipped off most of the pod horns and used them for the rooster's long curling tail. I glued each pod to flow like feathers, layering them thickly until I had the shape I wanted. I used a few whole pods to assemble the head shape, layering even more halves on top. I was looking at photos of roosters to make sure I got its shape correct. I kept track of each pod, counting 214 in all.

~ The rooster's wattle is made of dried fan mushrooms that I harvested. His comb is a large dried white mushroom that I cut into shape. I added a quick brush of brown paint so it wasn't so stark white.

~ Painted acorn caps finished his eyes.

See more pics of him:

fav.me/dclfyi3

He stands 21 inches tall, 9 inches wide, and 16 inches deep.