This is the table top version of the giant Escargot.
I actually came up with a paper weight size first, then this size, and then used this piece to point up to the giant size....
A friend of mine showed me a cool way to point up from a small piece.
You pour a hollow wax of your piece...(about 1/8 thick)
You cut it from bottom to top with a utility knife every 1/4"
Imagine if you set this snail on a meat slicer and started slicing 1/4 sectiions off starting at the bottom.
You take all of these rings that you've cut and place them on an over head projector. You project it on to a piece of 1 to 2 inch thick styrafoam and outline each and every piece.
You cut them all out and stack them and glue each piece together with spray insulation foam(non expanding) using bamboo skewers to hold all the layers together. Once the foam has cured you take all the skewers out and what you have looks like a Jenga snail, but then you take a curry comb to shape the piece how you want it. It's messy with all the styrafoam beads every where...Once you're satisfied with the look of the piece you take a heat gun to slightly melt all the excess beads etc. sticking out so you have kind of a shell...And then cover that with a thin layer of clay to put in the details and textures and make any adjustments you feel are necessary. I don't like to make carbon copies of pieces so I do subtle, and sometimes not so subtle changes from size to size. Hope I didn't bore you all too much with that...I just think it's a real fun way to point up a piece.
Ps. Recently I've changed this piece by adding skin texture and bumps just like the large version...