Sketches for the figurehead horse

galjon_01 As I explained in my blog post yesterday, I want to make a figurehead horse in honour of my ancestor Johan Törnström. I have read a lot of books and articles about him, and I understand that he was a very special, a very creative and a very temperamental person. His artistic talent was so strong that it is still found among his descendants hundreds of years later, including me. It is a heritage which is important to take care of, and I am beginning to understand that I am not doing it just for myself and my own wellbeing, but for the whole and old Törnström family.

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Prudence (Försiktigheten) was launched 1784. Picture from the old Naval Museum in Karlskrona.

First, I have to find a figurehead to make my interpretation of. I have chosen Försiktigheten (Prudence) because it is a figurehead with a lot of temper, and I also think that it has potential to come out quite nicely as a horse. One problem that I have to solve during creation is what the horse should keep in his hand/hoof. The original figurehead Prudence carries a medusa club (a man’s head), but I do not think that is something that a horse should carry, It would make the sculpture too scary.

This is the first sketch before I start to sculpt. The polymer clay figurehead vill be approximately 20-30 cm high. I do not know the exact height of the original figure head, but it is several meters high and weighs 980 kg according to the Naval Museum

Prudence is the second figurehead from the left. This picture is from the Figurehead Hall in the Swedish Naval Museum

 

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