The body of the cane is an aluminum tube. The "bones" are molded from clay onto the tube. To get the cane into my oven to harden the clay, it was created in two pieces that were fit together in the end. After the cane came out of the oven I attacked it with lots of washes of acrylic paint to get a weathered bone look.

The hardest part? Finding a friggin' crane fly to put in the amber topper. Seriously. I feel like those buggers are on my screen door all summer long. But the ONE time I want to grab one, suddenly I can't find a volunteer. Finally, a friend who lives in California came through. She mailed me a giant dead crane fly she found in her house. Not only was this thing huge, it was extremely deceased. It had a nice million-year-old vibe to it. So, with specimen in hand, I created a master for the amber cane topper out of clay. Made a two part silicon mold of that. For the final clear topper, I used a two part clear resin from Hobby Lobby. The bug was carefully placed in his final resting place during the casting process. The final product is solid, heavy and feels badass.