ARTIST’S STATEMENT   I specialize in making large sculptural birds and cats, so it is sometimes good to have a break from the bigger pieces and create a batch of miniature designs. These little dodos are fun to make and my work bench starts to resemble a toy factory, as it is covered in mini feet, heads, wings and bodies, that have to be modelled and carved in to small birds.

Since I was young, I have been fascinated by the Lewis Carroll story of Alice in Wonderland, but I have always been disappointed that dodos are no longer walking among us. This is my little way of redressing the balance.

When I first started designing birds in clay, I did not have the funds to create objects that were rather large and tricky to sell; so I built lots of safe and popular birds like swans and penguins. Although I enjoy making these gentle designs, I had a longing to create something more obscure and with a slight edge. Eventually I was in a position to just work for my own amusement and from the heart and so the dodo came in to being. The first outing of this quirky bird brought him to the attention of His Royal Highness King Charles, at a Prince’s Trust funded event. Lots of press coverage and sales gave me the encouragement and confidence to explore more personal themes; hence the vultures, crows and rats. Sometimes it is worth devoting the time to develop those hidden ideas and dreams instead of always taking the safe road.

SIZE  14 cm high by 11.5 cm from the side by 10 cm from the front view.
COLOUR   Cream body glaze with blue, white and brown sprayed over glaze and tan and black oxide details.
MATERIALS   Valentine’s Stoneware smooth modelling clay fired ceramic to 1260 degrees.
RANGE   The Dodo collection includes the large Dodo, Aristocrat (Steampunk) Dodo, Dodo with Alice girls on their back and a Little Dodo. There is also a Dodo in the Light Pull range and a Dodo Egg Cup design. The Little bird range includes a Little Kiwi, Little Penguin a Little Puffin.

METHOD OF CONSTRUCTION   This cute little puffin has been press moulded from slab rolled clay placed in to a small plaster cast to form the body of the piece. Then hand modelled little feet, wings and head are added to the body, which is then carved and finished. The piece is then left for several weeks to dry out before bisque firing to 1000°C. 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 Zoo Ceramics design can take about 2 weeks to create; whilst larger pieces can take over a month to complete.

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