Dancing with Pride

“In this sculpture I wanted to capture the feeling of the drumdancer strong and upright playing his drum with pride. I now have a new Foredom rotary tool with no vibration which has allowed me to push the detailing further on this piece, especially on the hands, facial details and the hair. I have also handmade a few special chisels and scrapers to achieve even finer detailing. I also took a considerable amount of time working on the clothing as I wanted to give the impression of the creases and folds in the fabric. I like the way the kamiks (boots) turned out as they look like they are made of skin. I tried to make the jacket look like it was an actual garment on the drummer’s body by carving in and around the neck, sleeves and hem — I was extremely happy with the way the hood turned out. I grinded the antler drum skin very thin and I must admit I was worried about going through. I then wanted to make the skin around the rim seem soft and loose compared to the tightness on the drum head.”

Billy Gauthier