About this Product
Not your run of the mill flamingo, by any means. Sunny, hopefully, will bring a smile to your face, she certainly brought one to my face as I was creating her. I love hats, I love roses and I certainly love flamingos. I gave Sunny a neck adornment of yellow roses with glitter, as well as one rose on her bonnet. Each rose was made by hand by me. A fancy flamingo she is! Perfect for any flamingo lover. Sunny stands on her base securely with armature wires that run from her legs down into the wooden base and are epoxy glued in place. The clay that I use is called Cosclay and it's in the polymer category, but is a plastic rubber hybrid that can be quite resilient.
Sunny is Custom Made to Order, that means she will take a little extra time to create before shipping. Please allow approximately 4 weeks.
Also, Sunny was not created with children in mind. Even though she's colorful and cute please do not give to small children. She's not meant to be a a toy.
And, Sunny is also not meant for the outdoors. Even though she's wearing her sun bonnet, the elements of weather could wear away the protective varnish and the areas of paint could chip off. Please enjoy this fancy lady indoors.
Sunny stands on her 5" diameter base and measures approimately 15" tall.
Judy B Freeman
Meet the Maker
Like a lot of artists and crafters, I've been making things from a young age. My family moved around a lot because my dad was in the service, so I was the "new kid" more than just once. I discovered that art and craft projects helped to keep me busy if we moved to a new town during the Summer months. During college I discovered 3-D art and got hooked first on sculpting and then on ceramic art. I graduated with a Bachelor in Fine Arts and, as many can relate, I got a regular job or 3 or 5 and my art projects were relegated to hobby status. After a life of not making art my first priority, I was able to switch gears. First I concentrated on being a ceramic artist and potter, creating functional ware as well as whimsical sculptural pieces. Then as the 50 pound boxes of clay got heavier and heavier, I decided that I needed a plan to help save my back. So I started doing research and started working with polymer clay. I retired my potters wheel and traded 50 pound boxes of clay for 8 pound boxes of clay. I made the total migration several years ago. Then in 2020 a new product in the polymer category was released, called Cosclay. It's a hybrid plastic - rubber clay and like polymer bakes in the oven, but Cosclay is quite resilient. Cosclay can stand up to the rigors of shipping across country and I've even dropped pieces without any breakage. I continue my artistic journey and have had fun selling on other marketplaces like Etsy and wholesale to galleries and shops across the country through the IndieMe website. Now the Goimagine website calls to my desire to help make a difference with my art. To be part of a truly handmade marketplace and reconnect with humans across the country.
I have a couple of "claims to fame". In 2007 a filming crew came to my home studio and filmed a 7 minute segment for an HGTV show called That's Clever! I demonstrated from start to finish how I made a ceramic cat bank. It took 2 years for the show to finally air and what an experience that was. My next claim to fame was also when I was still working in ceramic clay. I loved to make fish teapots. Three of my fish teapots were purchased by the Kamm Foundation Teapot Collection, the world's largest collection of teapots. I've had pieces, both ceramic as well as polymer in a variety of group exhibitions and have been fortunate enough to meet a lot of really great people in the process. My motto: keep learning, keep making.
Thanks for visiting - any questions, please don't hesitate to send me a message.
How it’s Made
For this sculpture I use Cosclay, I slice a one pound brick and condition first in a veggie chopper and then in a clay machine that slabs the clay. I do this over and over to get the clay to a workable state. Then I create a foil form for the flamingo's body and neck and cover the foil form with foil tape. Next step is to cover the foil form with slabs of clay that are approximately 4 mm thick. I sculpt the head and add it to the neck and make the legs by wrapping clay around armature wires. I add the legs, create the feet and bake the bird, usually for about 2 hours. Next step is to add the feathers and those I create by pushing clay pieces into silicone push molds and attaching each one to her body. Then she goes in for another bake session. At the same time I make her floppy hat, the roses that go around her neck and on her hat, with a textured clay ribbon to accent her hat. I paint Sunny with a pink acrylic paint, once everything has dried I add 3 coats of a wonderful clear polyurethane varnish. Sunny's base is a round wooden disk that's painted red, she stands securely using 2-part epoxy glue. And ta da she's finished.
Shop Policies
REFUNDS/EXCHANGES: It's important to me that you are 100% pleased with your purchase. If after receipt and inspection, for any reason, you are not happy with your order, please contact me within 14 days. We can make arrangements to either exchange or refund. Return shipment costs will be paid by the customer. And the amount refunded will be the total cost of goods purchased, not to include the initial shipping charges. CANCELLATIONS: Orders may be cancelled at any time prior to the order being shipped, and full refund will be processed. Exception to this policy would be if the items are customized especially for the customer, and work has begun.
GIFTS: Special conditions regarding items purchased as a gift. If the giftee (person receiving the gift) requests to return the item(s) I will direct the giftee to contact the giftor. I will await instructions from the customer that purchased the gift. Same Conditions apply as shown above in Refunds/Exchanges Section.
DAMAGED IN TRANSIT: NOTIFY ME WITHIN 3 DAYS OF YOUR RECEIPT OF THE PURCHASE OF ANY DAMAGE. KEEP ALL BOXES AND PACKING MATERIALS SO THAT A CLAIM CAN BE FILED
*At this time I only ship within the United States
**All images are the property of Judith B. Freeman, LLC and may not be copied without written permission.
