I swear that this work-in-progress must weigh about fifty pounds. That's how it felt when I attempted to lift the sculpture up and onto a shelf about head-high.
This piece is not entirely a self-portrait, and it's not entirely not one either.
I've made at least half a dozen "heads": Odysseus, Julius Caesar, Nefertiti, the Merman, the Frogman, and a nameless one or two.
And, I've made half a dozen "shoulders." This will be the first time I've actually attached a head to a set of shoulders. I'm not entirely sure why I've waited this long.
The "headless" pieces caught my attention for a few years, and there's one that seems the perfect self-portrait for age 47. I've posted photos of that one, I'm sure.
Earlier today, my oldest brother reminded me of something Marco Polo said that seems well worth remembering: "The bold don't live forever, but the timid don't live at all."
That saying will be what I hear from now on as the kids play at the local pool: Marco . . . POLO, Marco . . . POLO, Marco . . . POLO. Or, timid . . . BOLD, timid . . . BOLD, timid . . . BOLD. Something like that, anyway.
