Zoo Ceramics Animal Sculpture and Giftware
Tracy's Gallery - The Murder of Crows - Aristocrat Crow

ARTIST'S STATEMENT   These mischievous characters are my homage to the Martin Brothers and form part of a series entitled 'The Murder of Crows.'  Hooded forms wrapped in cloaks of inky black and blue.

The crow is part of my “Murder of Crows" body of work and explores the connotations and implications that surround the quotes that make up the collective nouns for groups of animals and birds; sometimes referred to as the Deeds of Chase. So far I have created a "Rat Pack" a "Parliament of Owls" and this range features the "Murder of Crows". I incorporate a humanistic element into the designs in a deliberate attempt to anthropomorphize the pieces, so the crows have a subtle collar or costume, the tawny owl chicks have spiky hairstyles and the rats have a characteristic hat or costume.

THE COURT OF THE CROWS  I love making bird sculptures and crows are one of my favourites. So many different influences go in to my crow designs, the quirky ceramics of the Martin Brothers, the poetry of Ted Hughes, Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland, programmes like “The Tudors and “The Game of Thrones.” Suddenly my Crows started to demand thrones, crowns and swords. Some rebelled against their naked state and required elaborate attire, but there is something very satisfying about a simple crow form in all its naked glory; with its hooded form wrapped in a cloak of inky black and midnight blue.

COLOUR   Black stained body with dark chocolate brown and midnight blue glaze details.
MATERIALS   Valentine’s Stoneware crank and smooth modelling clay fired ceramic to 1260 degrees.

RANGE   The Deeds of Chase series includes Tawny Owl Chicks, Black Rats and the Murder of Crows. The Murder series developed in to the Court of the Crows range and now includes the following designs, crow king, crow queen, crow prince, crow princess, jester crow, cardinal crow, bishop crow, executioner crow, nun crow, nanny crow, cradle crow, choir crow, knight crow and crow.

PLEASE NOTE   How to roder .. make a couple and show images or one might be available in ebay and etsy. The Crows in these images have most likely soldplisting is for one animal light pull.  We make lots of these little animal designs, so the item you receive will be very similar, but not necessarily the one shown. Due to the hand-made nature of the pieces there may be slight variations in size, pattern and colour, but be reassured that we only send out the finest examples.

METHOD OF CONSTRUCTION   Press moulded bird body sections with hand carved details. The piece is allowed to dry a little between stages to give it the strength to carry the weight of the design. The piece is then carved with fine textures and marks starting form the beak and ending at the feet. I usually work on several crows at a time and usually finish the carving by the end of the first week. The work is then left for up to three weeks to dry out fully before being fired in an electric kiln for a bisque firing at 1000°C. It will take another 24 hours for the kiln to cool down so that all the work can be emptied out and glazed. We make all our own stoneware glazes, which are dipped, poured, painted and sprayed on to our designs. Once glazed all the work goes back into the kiln for a second firing of up to 1260°C. This firing will fix the glaze permanently in to place and also make the piece frost proof and water resistant. From start to finish each large Zoo Ceramics design can take about a month to complete.

UNITED KINGDOM 2nd Class 2 – 3 days
UNITED KINGDOM 1st Class 1 – 2 days
EUROPE 3 - 5 days.
WORLDWIDE 6 – 7 days