Busts Of My Four Children

As my daughter Tracy turned twelve, I got the idea to make a bust of each of my children at 13 years old. When Tracy turned 13, I did her bust with her posing for me. I did the same for the three boys at the same age. These were done in terra cotta (water based clay) and then they were fired in a kiln to make them permanent.

I have the memory of spending that time with each of the children in my studio. The four busts were actually done in three different studios due to moves I had made. When I moved to Rhode Island, the bust of my son, Mike had broken beyond repair. It was the only damage sustained in that move. I remade the bust based on the original.

Although the busts are pretty faithful in their accuracy, what I was really shooting for was to capture an expression that was true to their individual nature. At that age parents see things in their children that the child is not even aware of yet.

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