The original figure is believed to have come from the American clipper ship Nightingale. And is a representation of the famous Swedish opera singer Jenny Lind. Her sweet voice earned her the reputation of the ‘Swedish Nightingale’. Over the course of time, the figurehead had lost one arm, and had the other altered. The remains of the original was scanned with a 3D scanner and a replica carved using a computerised CTC machine.
The result of which left much that needed finishing by hand. Where detail was missing or damaged, the computer left a blank block of wood. This was then carved by me, to fill in the missing detail. The arm in the second picture, shows one arm cut as far as the computer could scan.
The third picture shows the completed arms, with missing areas traditionally carved, by hand.
The project was interesting in working with CTC cut figures, which may have saved time in the cutting process. But failed to give a hand carved appearance. Every inch of the figure needed to be finished by hand with traditional carving tools, to give an authentic feel to the figure
The completed replica stands as a piece of sculptural decoration within “Serenade of the Seas”. A cruise liner of the Royal Caribbean Line.
