Traci Newberry Standing in the Shoes of Michealangelo Buonarrati

Before I even began my sculpture, I knew that within that white bar of soap was a figure of my beautiful white German shepherd, Diesel.

I had some tools that would work great, from a time years ago I thought clay sculpting would be a fun new hobby. I started with a couple pictures of Diesel, and a couple sketches to get my angles right.

It was so overwhelming to wrap your brain around what pieces you needed to leave and what areas you needed to remove. Proportion was something that I did not expect to be as large of a challenge, but every time I thought I had the back legs the way I wanted them, the head was too small, or vice versa. I found Diesel's ears to be the most challenging because they were both convex and concave in shape, and tiny in comparison. The soap was fairly easy to shape and remove, but if I attempted to take too much off at one time, it would break and crack. I cannot fathom how difficult it would be to create such wonderful sculptures like Michelangelo in something soft, like soap; and he was able to create those works in marble and stone! Truly unbelievable. I added finishing touches on Diesel, with a wire brush, to add the texture of hair, and was somewhat satisfied with the final work. Even more satisfied with my heightened appreciation for what Michelangelo was able to do.