Clay and Light; A Winning Combination

 I recently finished a figure sculpture in which I added a solar powered light to illuminate the inside. I built the figure out of recycled clay during a demonstration on figure building for my adult sculpture class at the OSU Craft Center last year. The form was designed with the intention of adding a light inside at some point. With the help of my husband and our tech savvy neighbor we cut out a wooden sheet of 1/4 inch plywood for the base and were able to attach a small solar panel to the back of the sculpture using 5 minute epoxy, running the wires up the hollow inside and into the head of the figure, and placing an on/off switch just inside the square cut-out on the right breast. I free handed the skeleton ribs for the inside with ink on heavy paper and cut the anatomical heart out of an anatomy book and glued them inside. The paper with the ribs on it is concealing the wires running down the back of the sculpture. I ended up selling this piece and it was given as a wedding gift.

Sculpture with red solar powered light illuminating hand drawn ribs and skeleton inside as well as a copy of an anatomical heart.

Close-up of anatomical heart photocopied out of anatomy book