Her Story

When I was sculpting this piece—a little bird that fits in the palm of your hand—it struck me that such a tiny thing would weigh almost nothing at all.

A small scrap of a being, feather-light and downy.

It somehow carried a fragile smallness, an almost temporary and fleeting feeling. In that moment I knew I wanted her to have weight.

So when she arrived back from the foundry in solid bronze, I was ecstatic.

Holding my very first bronze piece in my hand was wonderful enough, but the shock of how heavy she was, and how very cold… and how fast she started to warm in my palm… I knew at once she was meant to be in this medium.

A heirloom, a piece that depicted the little, the temporary, but was now immortalized in a material that held history and would age along with time.

The Bronze Bird

- Introducing the Bronze Bird -

Extremely limited edition solid bronze sculpture by Lara Whatley.

The Making

The Bronze Bird was a labour of love. She started out as a lump of clay hand-shaped to invoke the tiny weight she is. At first she was as light as a real bird.

Her mold was carefully hand-designed by me in studio. I finished a few copies of her in cold-cast bronze and had a lot of fun playing around with patinas.

She was then sent off to a small foundry I had the great pleasure of collaborating with to be cast in solid bronze.

Each bird is unique, hand finished, and there will only ever be 28 of them in the world.

Seeking Beauty in the Ordinary

This lady is meant to embody the wonder available to us if only we look out past the window-panes at the world beyond.

She’s a tiny thing, but carries great weight, and so works well to hold open your books, planners, and journals—offering inspiration and a reminder of all that is worth pursuing.

Let her nest on your bookcase, in your favourite novel, or perch on your planner, and see an ordinary space become one that holds all the weight of bronze, and all the whimsy of sculpture.