SW161 handmade crafted Hen House Clock with store Rooster / Cockerel

Hen House Clock - store Manltle
I have been a potter/artist for nearly 40 years and have been making bird sculptures for my pots for quite a while now in my studio in Warwickshire, England. The inspiration for these pieces comes from my Granddad's farm where I grew up, surrounded by chickens, cattle & sheep.

Each “Hen House Clock” start with a doodle on a scrap piece of paper or envelope. This particular clock is a mantel piece clock made in high fired stoneware.

Then in the workshop, I start the project. I initially make the hen house as it's the core of the clock. I take a lump of clay and roll out a number of slabs of clay, which I subsequently texture with a variety of tools. I then cut the slabs and join together to create the hen house. The clock face is added and an aperture created at the back of the clock to take the standard battery clock mechanism.

Now comes the really fun part in my opinion, sculpting the rooster/cockerel and the hen. Each bird is individually made by hand which gives each of them a unique character.
The body and head are sculpted / modeled from a ball of clay, texture being added with a variety of workshop tools. The tail is then made from a flat piece of clay and attached to the body. Further features are added with a variety of special modelling tools that I have collected over the years. Finally, the eyes and beak are modelled in and it's amazing how the rooster / cockerel instantly comes to life, developing its own character. I like my rooster to be “crowing and giving it his all!”.

The hen is made in a similar fashion.

The chicks are simply crafted and add a real sense of fun to the finished piece.

The clock is then slowly dried, decorated and given a stoneware glaze firing. Finally the clock mechanism is fitted and “we are done”. The finished piece sits on a shelf above my desk for a few days before I list it on ETSY.

Approximate height is 9.5” (24 cm). Battery not included.