More coati moments
Spotting coatis in Sabino canyon was fortunate in many ways. Not only is it always amazing to see a coati, but it was artistically inspiring, too. Before the Tucson visit I had already begun a 
small coati effigy bowl, so on returning home I was all fired up to finish it and start another bigger one, images of live animals fresh in my head to draw from.
(left: pair of coati effigy bowls in various states of completion; photo A.Shock)
The little one is sculpted, textured, and burnished — bone-dry and awaiting bisque-firing. The bigger one is still wet, with sponges propping up a tail that wants to slump forward, and a plastic bag over the head to keep the snout workable for a little longer. (Our cool fall weather is keeping things drying at a snail’s pace, frustrating when you’re trying to get things through the studio rapidly, with the holidays coming up).
Sometimes clay places practical limitations on forms, and there’s no way to make tails as gloriously long and sinuous as real coati tails. But the snouty-shoulderyness of the climbing-digging critters is do-able, as is the higher-in back posture 
that makes them look like they’re always trundling downhill. These pieces are destined for sawdust-firing, I think, so the smoky coloration of the twilight-colored desert animals should be suitably earthy, but I’m still thinking about how to get the spectacles and the rings to be visible but not too contrasty.
The little one is apparently a male. Be sure to click to enlarge.
(All photos A.Shock)
I love you for providing the anatomical closeup.
Just doing my job, ma’am.
Love it! Nothin’ like a Coati butt in the morning!
Thankfully, you were the one jumping up and down flapping your arms in excitement at the appearance of the coati, or we all would have missed it.
Will you be making any of the bowls available for purchase? I’d love to have a little coati sculpture….
Allison, you know we’re all going to want one of those bowls, so you’d better make up a bunch of them. 🙂 Not sure I would need an anatomically correct one but I’ll leave that to the artist’s discretion. But how talented you are, these pieces are a perfect reminder of our wonderful walk!