How I make my sculptures
These sculptures take many hours of detailed work, and begins with sculpting the animals free-hand out of high quality polymer clay.
The sculptures may go through multiple stages of baking and carving before they are ready for a coat of professional grade acrylic paint.
Finally, the sculpture is ready for its most challenging step – its coat of fur (usually alpaca fiber and sheep wool, but sometimes more exotic fibers, or synthetic depending on the fur type of the animal that is being made). It is applied a tiny bit at a time with tweezers and adhesive, and the fur must be applied carefully in the growing direction for a realistic look. This step takes the longest as the glue for the different layers of fur need to dry before applying more to the next area, along with precise trimming of the coat during and after application.
Finally, the last details are done with professional grade soft pastels and/or inks, and sometimes whiskers are added depending on the kind of animal. Then their coat is set with with a high quality, non-yellowing fixative spray that helps to preserve the sculpture’s details and fiber coat so it can be enjoyed for many years to come.
Here is an example of the different stages of progress of one of my sculptures.
My sculptures are usually made to specific dollhouse scales (mostly 1:12), and are sold on either Etsy or eBay.
Due to the amount of time it takes to create each piece, I am only able to produce a very limited number per year. If you would like to be one of the first to know when a new sculpture is available, you can subscribe to my emailing list on my contact page.
About the artist
Sarah Grace is a part time artist based in Canada who enjoys working with polymer clay and natural fibers to create one of a kind, fine miniature animal sculptures for dollhouse hobbyists and collectors. Her inspiration comes from her lifelong love and admiration for God’s wonderful creatures. She loves working with and caring for animals, and has had many much loved pets over the years.
In 2021, she was honored to be awarded Artisan Membership in the category of animals with the International Guild of Miniature Artisans.
