$6,200.00

Some of our favorite work from Russell is when he hand coils his free standing bear figures. Fired outdoors, this new grizzly bear is so striking in appearance. He has only made a few polychrome bears, and this one turned out magnificently. He fully polished the bear with white clay. This bear has an arched back, which is difficult to sculpt, as he has to have the arch meet with both sides of the back. Looking down from the top, it has both black and red slipped incised triangular areas, creating four distinct panels. Inset into those triangles are colorful high grade Sleeping Beauty turquoise stones. This turquoise is set in a starburst pattern, as well as another vertical line of six stones running from the top of the back, down to the legs. There are a total of 68 inset stones in the bear. Russell has to embed each stone carefully and patiently after the bear has been fired outdoors. Notice how the hematite embedded dots resemble the painted dots in the horizontal bands on each panel. Particularly noteworthy is how Russell has formed the legs. The legs are slipped with red and black clay. Carved in such a way that you can see through them gives the bear a realistic pose. So much work went into the forming, designing, incising, carving, polishing, and firing. This is a magnificent and complex bear figure.

4 1/4″ high by 6 1/2″ wide

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