The nautilus is an ancient animal.
Considered to be a living fossil, it has survived millions of years mostly unchanged.
For some in the spiritual realm the nautilus symbolizes growth, expansion, and renewal.
Not so much for others like the Palauns in Micronesia, where the nautilus can be found on the slopes of the coral reefs. It’s a symbol of vulnerable or fragile character from a belief that they die easily from slight bumps.
I had been saving snail shells for a few years with the purpose of making tiny nautili. I waited so long to make them, because I couldn’t envision a way to showcase them. Sometimes you can’t force an idea.
I used polymer clay to sculpt the features like the cirri. A nautilus doesn’t have tentacles like an octopus, it has soft appendages called cirri.
I also used polymer clay to sculpt the coral and sponges, then painted them with acrylic paint. I attached them to rocks sculpted from paper clay
