Portuguese-“Meh”-of-War

Portuguese-“Meh”-of-War. 11.5″ x 21″. Clay. Wood mount.

Meh. While Kevin was finishing up his cool painting today, I was trying to finish up this piece. I started it well over a month ago after my friend Chris​ posted a jellyfish photo from the beach. I got all these fantastic ideas about transparent clay and jillions of jellyfish tentacles weaving around an assortment of baubles and shapes and textures. I wanted a contrast between the top 1/3 and bottom 2/3 to differentiate between above and below the water.

Well, it didn’t turn out as expected. The transparent clay wasn’t transparent enough unless you have a light behind the body (which I don’t have the energy to build) and the bottom just wasn’t cohesive enough. I needed more coral or tentacles or something. Somehow I lost the point of view.

Not sure if the failure was because of the very stressful month I’ve had or maybe I just lost traction. It’s also the largest wall-hanging I’ve made so, maybe there was some fear. On the plus side, I really like my new signature stamp and making my own wooden mounts with the router. Next project: Something that doesn’t take as long!