Knowing that the Shakespeare world is all abuzz with the up and coming movie, The Tempest, I thought that a sculpture of Ariel would be quite timely. Now who is Ariel? He is and airy spirit in service to a magician. Makes perfect sense, doesn't it? The beginning of the play sees a violent tempest, but it is not until later that the reader learns that Ariel is the cause of it. My sculpture shows Ariel looking on as the sailors drown, with a smug look of satisfaction on his face. I wasn't quite sure how to represent a faerie person, so I ended up trying to make him look wild and forest wight like. Notice his clothing- it is scant, but savors of the mischievous dryad. You can't see it very well in the picture, but his cloak took a lot of layering with colors to create the right color and texture.
PROSPERO
Hast thou, spirit,
Perform'd to point the tempest that I bade thee?
ARIEL To every article.
I boarded the king's ship; now on the beak,
Now in the waist, the deck, in every cabin,
I flamed amazement: sometime I'ld divide,
And burn in many places; on the topmast,
The yards and bowsprit, would I flame distinctly,
Then meet and join. Jove's lightnings, the precursors
O' the dreadful thunder-claps, more momentary
And sight-outrunning were not; the fire and cracks
Of sulphurous roaring the most mighty Neptune
Seem to besiege and make his bold waves tremble,
Yea, his dread trident shake.
The only place outside without snow on it was the woodpile, so I had to settle for such a setting for Ariel, which is too bad. Oh well.
