Becca Kallem came in with a perfectly fine ring, just a bit worn maybe, but which represented a broken relationship. It was a simple silver ring that her x had bought her as they were on holidays together. With a pre-fabricated statement rather than a personal message, I found the ring not really holding the same seriousness as a wedding band, but still I guess in some way expressing a wish for a more serious relationship to come. Anyway, it hadn’t worked out, so now Becca wanted something creative done to her ring. My response was to think of the ring or band in different contexts, and imagine another kind of band altogether, but that could stand in for a failed relationship. My solution was to incorporate the ring into a small figurative sculpture.

The material is a kind of two-component liquid plastic. You mix the two transparent liquids together, and quickly pour it in a mould, and within 15 minutes the mix has hardened into a white plastic, feeling very much the material of toys. I built up the dog from plasticine, and to make sure the ring ended up fused around the dog’s neck, without having to remove and glue back his head, I had to make the plasticine model with the ring already there. I then made a three part plaster mould around the figure, carefully removed the plasticine (but left the ring there) and cast it with the liquid plastic.

After painting the dog was perfect, really looking like a cheap plastic toy you could have bought in a dollar store, or why not when on holiday? This one though, not holding any empty promises. A dog will always be faithful until their death, as we all know, no matter who we are, what we do and who else they meet later on. Isn’t that why we humans just love dogs?