This bust is my take on Victor Aguilar's fabulous 'The Lady', available through Miniature Art Academy as 'Vera'. I originally started this in Erik Swinson's fundamentals class at NOVA 2025, and picked it back up in April to finish. After receiving some feedback at the Richmond Open (where it won a silver), I made a few revisions to get to this final version.
I was inspired by the poster for Miyazaki's film 'The Wind Rises', or at least the general vibe it gives, and named the piece after it. What I was aiming for was this very powerful glance and I tried to pack a lot of storytelling in here between the time of day, her expression, and contrast between time periods. The subtle tweed texture and military green hints at 1940s, but the haircut feels extremely modern.
I loved bringing out a unique expression to her and adore this simple sculpt.
