Chinese Dragon

 

I've had good years and okay years with ornaments.  This year was a very good year.  Be prepared for a lot of photos.

When I made the Chinese man last year I was inspired to make a dragon, too.  I had a picture of what I wanted to make; creating it was a bit more complicated. 

I love how Chinese dragons are so long and sinewy, all twisty.  I wanted to capture that.  I've seen some holding a ball, so I wanted to do that, too. 

 
I built the body, the arms and the head separately, then put them together.  I got close to how I wanted it to look, but then things got complicated.  It was too thin to support itself while being baked; the clay softens before it cures.  Wow, this one required a lot more that propping - it needed scaffolding!

 

It took probably as much time building the props than it did to make the dragon.  As I struggled with that, Rob suggested that I build the body around a wire frame.  I wish I had thought of that in the first place!  (Think I'll remember next time?  Probably not.)

Wire frame would have allowed me to pose the dragon exactly how I wanted, but I got this pretty close. 

 

It wasn't until I started writing this post that I realized I forgot to add in the horns!  Dang!  But at this point he already has so many little breakable points, it's just as well I didn't add more.  

I painted his nails and added a little gold wash to the scales down the back.  

 

This isn't my first attempt at a Chinese-themed ornament.  I first made a Chinese man with a dragon wrapped around him back in 2009.  This was the design I had in mind when I started last year's ornament.  I think I am happier having created two different ornaments than one complex one.  

Now I need to start thinking what to make for next Christmas.  How am I going to top this?

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