Over a year ago at the county fair, I stopped by a booth about farm-raised emus and they had a hollowed out emu egg for sale. I bought it on a whim, thinking I'd use it for some art project sooner or later. I was looking at Jadress' life story and it struck me that being raised by dragons would make for a rather unique childhood. For one thing, as intelligent as their owners may be, dragon paws don't have quite the manual dexterity of human (or elven) hands. I pictured Jadress' adoptive parents making a bit of a mess of trying to brush her hair. As for the usual baby accoutrements--toys, mobiles, a crib, a rattle--draconic parents would be hard-pressed to provide such things. It occurred to me that they might use a leftover eggshell for her cradle, and the idea for this sculpture was born. I broke a hole in the emu egg (very carefully) and filled it with dried ornamental moss (my roommate, who is from the Seattle area, is still laughing at me for buying moss), then used Sculpey to make the figure.

After baking, I painted features and attached doll hair. I also made a beaded mobile, which can be seen in one of the pictures, and, with my roommate's help, designed and made a tiny toy dragon. We arranged a little scene under a nearby tree and my roommate took photos of the sculpture for me (I owe her a lot of thanks for her help in this project).

This is my first MAG entry. The first that I've actually finished and entered on time, that is. I've tried several times before and got sidetracked. ^_^;;; Anyway, Jadress was a very interesting and inspiring character, and I hope I've captured at least a hint of what her childhood may have been like.