I’d click LIKED a dozen times if they let me.
It’s a shame you can’t show this to the right people here because it would be a sure hit with the feminists (which by now are not just the women). Half the towns of La Mancha would be glad to substitute the silly Quijotes that stand in their squares for a bronze copy of this one. No one would object to such an original and unpolemical version. Your woman has just the right amount of dignity without any of the self-righteousness that could make her disagreeable. She is pretty without being a sex object and intelligent without being a man-scourge.
You have brought her paraphernalia down to just that lance pole, which is like Michelangelo’s reducing David’s accessories to the vague strap over his shoulder (his sling).
At first I was surprised at the size and glove-likeness of her hands but then I figured that you had wanted them that way to show that she was physically up to the fight; and also because more sensitive hands (as you usually make them) would have distracted from her head and face. Still, the fingers of that right hand close and rest very naturally and pleasingly in the side view.
Probably you tried different hair styles and opted for this one because it successfully takes the place of a helmet and doesn’t hide the features of her face.
Oh, wow, you’re so nice Swallows, my friend! Thank you for your always interesting and thoughtful observations. The initial concept was that if there was a Don Quixote (or Quijote) there must have been a Dona Quixote also. But as it is usually the case, the concept evolves into other forms or directions along the way. It also coincided with me reading the book. Another attempt decades ago at it failed but I can see its immense value now, although I read that its original use of language is virtually untranslatable to another language. I am surprised that generally Don Quijote is looked upon as a comical character. And I wonder if Picasso’s funny representation of the duo has forever stamped into the lazy minds of most folks the most common of characters. I see it differently. He is not the one dimensional character depicted everywhere at all. The book itself is half story and linguistic wonder, half philosophy to me. So my bust is considering the philosophical aspect of the donquijotism, I guess. And of course your trained eye picked up on that. The hands holding the “lance” were very difficult to make, so I am happy if they look natural to you. Their size and proportion has an increased role, I think, in the case of a bust. They carry most of the burden of expression and gesture in the lack of a whole body, thus the oversized rendering takes on an all important objective.
Erika Takacs Sculpture 
I’d click LIKED a dozen times if they let me.
It’s a shame you can’t show this to the right people here because it would be a sure hit with the feminists (which by now are not just the women). Half the towns of La Mancha would be glad to substitute the silly Quijotes that stand in their squares for a bronze copy of this one. No one would object to such an original and unpolemical version. Your woman has just the right amount of dignity without any of the self-righteousness that could make her disagreeable. She is pretty without being a sex object and intelligent without being a man-scourge.
You have brought her paraphernalia down to just that lance pole, which is like Michelangelo’s reducing David’s accessories to the vague strap over his shoulder (his sling).
At first I was surprised at the size and glove-likeness of her hands but then I figured that you had wanted them that way to show that she was physically up to the fight; and also because more sensitive hands (as you usually make them) would have distracted from her head and face. Still, the fingers of that right hand close and rest very naturally and pleasingly in the side view.
Probably you tried different hair styles and opted for this one because it successfully takes the place of a helmet and doesn’t hide the features of her face.
Her profile is also very nice.
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Oh, wow, you’re so nice Swallows, my friend! Thank you for your always interesting and thoughtful observations. The initial concept was that if there was a Don Quixote (or Quijote) there must have been a Dona Quixote also. But as it is usually the case, the concept evolves into other forms or directions along the way. It also coincided with me reading the book. Another attempt decades ago at it failed but I can see its immense value now, although I read that its original use of language is virtually untranslatable to another language. I am surprised that generally Don Quijote is looked upon as a comical character. And I wonder if Picasso’s funny representation of the duo has forever stamped into the lazy minds of most folks the most common of characters. I see it differently. He is not the one dimensional character depicted everywhere at all. The book itself is half story and linguistic wonder, half philosophy to me. So my bust is considering the philosophical aspect of the donquijotism, I guess. And of course your trained eye picked up on that. The hands holding the “lance” were very difficult to make, so I am happy if they look natural to you. Their size and proportion has an increased role, I think, in the case of a bust. They carry most of the burden of expression and gesture in the lack of a whole body, thus the oversized rendering takes on an all important objective.
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