This was a project I created for a friend who works with my dad. She and her husband have a little beach house and they requested a pelican sculpture to decorate their wall.

My goal for this metal pelican was to add detail while keeping the overall design simple. This sculpture was created from only 8 main pieces of metal. But with added grinding details and with bead rolled rachis of the feathers it read as a more complex design. I enjoyed the challenge of conveying a pelican's character, that big pouch and those wide wings, with such a minimal number of pieces. Sometimes the simplicity of the design forces you to make every detail count, and I felt that worked well here.

This pelican sculpture is wall hanging, made entirely of stainless steel, colored using only heat patinas, and is safe to be kept outdoors!