My lion head was going to be a replica of the model lion head I had, as such,

The main body consisted of three strips of bamboo bound together (I didn’t have a single thick bamboo piece) that took on the main structural support of the main lion body. For the long section, I used 3 bamboo strips fasted together to make one strong sturdy strip and tied it to the base.

For the second shorter one, I ended up using a rattan/ cane ring which I found at an arts and c rafts store (probably used as a base for other arts projects) separated the join and stretched it out to form a large curve. The length was perfectly matched to the original.

From this it was a bit tedious measuring each bamboo strip before tying it on to the main supporting strips to start forming the main body.

As you can see, my measuring wasn’t all that up to scratch and the head was a bit lop sided.
Hopefully it doesn’t affect things too much. I’m hoping with the finished product that a bit of the fur, pom poms and mirror will hide some of the imperfections.

Feelings so far

So far I’ve found making this lion head quite relaxing. It’s like a giant puzzle!
As a young kid, I’ve always enjoyed making lego bits, or gundam models and giant puzzles. This feels exactly like that. A lot of the time, I find myself sitting and staring at the model lion head and then at my skeletal lion head and think, wow! I have such a long way to go but as I start figuring out which part of the lion I should add on next and then length of the pieces and their positions starting coming together, then it becomes a great feeling as I can see progress.

Hint on binding
In my first project, I experimented with different ways of trying to tie the bamboo bits together. I’ve tried twine, paper ties, hot glue and finally thin metal wire. I’ve found thin metal wire to be the easiest to use by far, producing both strong joints, quick tying times and little mess.
I’m not too sure how the joints will do in the long run, especially being stressed through all the bends in the wire as well as the vigorous shaking that it will be put through but in the meantime, it’s the easiest medium to use.

Snapshot in time- a close up view of my wire handiwork