Trophy Head- Watercolor

This was the last piece I did at The Smithsonian. It was collected during the 1929 sugarcane expedition to Papua New Guinea. It is human skin stretched over an armature of clay, and it was smoked and decorated with paint, shell, bone, and bound up the back with basket weaving. It was considered to represent ideal human form, or the form that humans secretly possess. I was excited to paint it, because I had ordered the 1929 National Geographic, which has a long article about this expedition, and there is an image of this exact head in it, so I really felt like I got to play a part in the history of this object.

Procedural Skills Curriculum Illustrations

 For The Keck School of Medicine's Procedural Skills Curriculum booklet

Arrow from Papua New Guinea

This arrow head is constructed of bone (the barb) and what looks like some kind of horn or hoof (the head).

Bamboo and Bone Arrow Designs

These arrows are amazingly long- about 5.5 feet- and they have a variety of patterns that I rolled out so that they can be seen in their entirety. They are constructed of three components: the arrow head (bone), which fits into the top of the shaft (either a piece of wood or very thin bamboo). This in turn is fitted into a slightly larger stalk of bamboo. The binding is made of thin strips of plant fiber and the paste includes the blood from the hunters' testicles (ouch! ((I imagine))) I still haven't seen the bow that could shoot such huge arrows, but if I get the chance I'd love to draw that too. 

Water Lily (?) Pattern Tobacco Pipe

This bamboo pipe differs from the others because of its lizard skin wrappings (which were really fun to paint) All of the pipes with this pattern have this rich coloring. The first five pipes I drew were an ashy bamboo color and the designs looked as though they had been burned in. 

Sorcerer Stick

This sorcerer's stick is from Papua New Guinea, and it was considered to be an object of great power. When held upright,  the carvings resemble a human face.  When pointed directly at you or horizontally it takes on the form of a crocodile's head.