Commissioned Beaded Skull Art
The Boss
The Boss is a large non-typical whitetail buck. He is the first in a trio of whitetail deer I have been commissioned to revive with beaded skull art.
He is the largest of the three and by far the longest whitetail deer skull I have had the honor of working with. And in the images below, you can see the large mass of bone between his antlers, which reminded me of a buffalo boss. For those two reasons he got his name as soon as he came to me.
The Clay Process
This skull required extra time in the clay process due to that “boss” and several other smaller areas like it, as well as large gaps in the skull structure. I actually had to enlist my husband to file down a bit of the area between the antlers because it was so high on one side, making him very lopsided. However, once the clay was complete, he became much more staple. Can you imagine carry so much extra weight on one side of your head?
The Beaded Skull Art Design
The intricacy of the design also added more time to complete this commissioned beaded skull art piece. My designs are not normally so symmetrical, because skulls are not symmetrical…plus I just love flowing lines. Therefore this type of design is more challenging. However the central design lead the way in the overall scheme and more symmetry felt right. Although the design was tricky and some hard-to-get-to areas around the antlers and back of the eyes were taxing, all in all, considering he is The Boss, he was otherwise quite cooperative.
The length of this skull allowed for an exceptionally large center piece, featuring 3 red carnelian fan sets along with red magma and mocca Swarovski bicone crystals. While gold seed beads give a touch of classy definition the brecciated Jasper brings together the dark berry, deep chocolate and bronze color scheme of this beaded skull design.
Red carnelian is said to represent self-confidence, fearlessness and courage. Although this gemstone was not chosen because of these qualities it certainly is a perfect fit for The Boss.
The Boss’s original state 
Clay process complete 
Frontal view 
View over the top 
The Boss full view 
Close up left side 
Close up right side 
Bead detail
If you have your own skull, European, or shield mount, whatever the species, Leesa can craft it into a treasured one-of-a-kind artwork centerpiece for you. Contact her at Leesa@UntamedElegance.net or 616.422.2342.