Ballerina: Estelle in progress, part 1

Estelle's body is porcelain. I sculpt the torso separately from the legs.  After the legs and hips are sculpted they are cut apart for ease in firing the porcelain.

To attach the porcelain parts I first insert a heavy wire armature and glue it in place with epoxy.  This is covered by Milliput, a fine epoxy based sculpting compound available from Mirco-Mark.

The first steps in costuming a ballerina are the silk shoes and the basic wig.  A bun and trimmings will be added to the wig when the costume is complete.
Note her hands are protected by cotton batting.