The Slow Journey to Mastery: The Evolving Creation of Joyful Warrior

Sculpting the Model

The journey began in wax and clay. I started by taking a silicone mold of a model’s face and reproducing it in wax. Next, I sculpted the sweeping Fibonacci spiral form around that wax face in clay, positioning it precisely at the heart of the composition. Over two years, I alternated between adding and carving—each tweak informed by the piece’s emerging personality. To enrich the texture, I took molds of real shells and flowers, cast them in wax, and seamlessly wove those organic shapes into the design. This prototyping phase taught me to listen to the sculpture itself, following curves and details that only revealed themselves through doing.

With the wax-and-clay prototype as my guide, I embarked on the long process of translating those forms into glass and metal.

Technical Trials & Triumphs

The casting itself was one of the most ambitious projects I’ve tackled. Managing a large, complex form with varying thicknesses and undercuts pushed my mold-making skills to their limits. I’ll never forget opening the kiln doors to find the glass had perfectly filled every cavity—and the colors landed exactly where I wanted them. In that moment, molten glass and engineered framework felt inseparable. It was a profound reward for trusting the slow process.

Five Years of Reflexive Steps

Building on that prototype, the next few years were dedicated to refining the design in glass and metal—ultimately yielding a multi-part sculpture that I’m proud to call my best work. One pivotal “happy accident” occurred when I dusted the horn section of the mold with opaque white glass powder to prime it for bronze coating. Since the powder was lighter than the surrounding crystal, it floated farther than expected, creating a soft halo of white beyond the horn tips. That serendipity inspired me to layer on additional bronze and gold leaf—elements that ultimately became central to Peaceful Warrior’s final aesthetic.

The creative process is rarely a linear path. Having a vision of exactly what you want to create leads to a straight line of fabrication. Sometimes I can’t see further than the step in front of me. The next step will be decided only once I can see the outcome of my previous steps.

The creation of Joyful Warrior, cast glass, brass, 18kt gold leaf has been a reflexive journey that lasted almost 7 years. After each step I never immediately knew what I wanted to do with her. Eventually, it would hit me. I’d visualize the next step and move forward.

In the end, I don’t know if I could have ever fully visualized this piece at the beginning. I believe this is my best work. Sometimes a slow journey is the only way.