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Went to check on my eel sculpt: cracked like crazy!
Poor thing. Also probably way too big. Asked Google, then Devon, about the cracking — may have been bc the clay was too thin, and/or the aluminum form underneath didn’t allow for contraction as the clay dried (and shrank). Tried another, smaller, eel with a single aluminum wire and mostly clay:
I do like that the clay picks up on fingerprints and marks. Still unsure about whether representational is the way to go. Picked up some model magic and air-dry clay, too, to play with. Still unsure if I ought to buy my own rubber two part mix for mold-making. Think the dental stuff would be fun to try first.
But where’s the time?!
Met David’s niece, the fish scientist, who shared that they had been studying eels this past fall. She remarked on their intelligence compared to other fish: they would come to in a bath with an anaethestic solution in it, remain calm until your back was turned, and then rocket out of the container. They didn’t slither out, rather, they’re able to launch themselves out, like a leap. Apparently they’ll also cross land. And are surprisingly hefty — which makes me think that my sculpted eel is a bit on the thin side.
The scientists were trying to find the ones leaving the freshwater to return to the saltwater (on their way to the end of their lives?), which is when they transition from ‘yellow eels’ to ‘silver eels’. (all the more reason to make aluminum eels?) They causes and timing of this transition aren’t really understood, and so it was quite difficult for them to determine which of the eels they were catching, were actually headed out of their freshwater homes and to the ocean.
