Return to Singh, Jeff

Totoro Statue

I have been a fan of Miyazaki from the opening credits of the first film I saw. It happened to be My Neighbor Totoro which is still among my favorites of his. I think Porco Rosso is my favorite Miyazaki movie but Totoro, Sprited Away and Whispers of the Heart are still among my favorites. When we bought our new house, the owners had a garden in the front courtyard with Buddha statue which they took with them. This area was crying out for a statue to replace it. I wanted to get a stone Miyazaki statue. After much consideration and debate I decided on Totoro who is a tree spirit and in the movie watches out over nature and the kids.

To get this statue made I put an ad in on the website of OCAD (Ontario College of Art and Design) which is the Toronto arts college. I was looking for a student or a new grad and outlined the project and asked interested parties that thought they had the skill set to do this to contact me and to send me some of images from their portfolio. I got one response but lost the email with a computer crash and had to repost which garnered a second response. Through this I met Olenka, a recent grad who does food sculpture and has an affinity and talent with butter sculptures. We talked and met and although she wasn't familiar with Miyazaki she certainly was interested in Japanese pop culture and some anime/manga. I lent her my copies of the Miyazaki collection and she understood the character.

From there we decided on material, size and pricing. Time frame was more open as I wasn't in a big rush. The process was great and I visited the piece in the works and various stages about a dozen times. Most of the times I went down, the kids were with me so they were part of the process as well. In the end, the project took about 9 months (maybe a bit longer) but it was fun and the final piece is perfect. It is subtle enough that many people miss it coming up to the house and when the ivy finishes growing in around it I think it will be even more at one with the garden and the space. It is a little over 3 and a half feet tall and weighs in at over 400 lbs.

The artist is Olenka Kleban. Here is her site. Here is an article on Olenka working with butter making a parody of our controversial mayor.

There are 15 Pieces of Art In This Gallery.    

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Totoro Garden Statue 2023

Art Details

Artist:
Media Type:	Mixed Media
Art Type:	Other
For Sale Status:	NFS
Views	1218
Comments:	2
Added to Site:	4/11/2023

About the Owner

Jeff Singh
Member Since:	November 2004

Totoro Garden Statue 2023
Artist: 1218 Views, 2 Comments

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Reference Image

Art Details

Artist:
Media Type:	Photograph
Art Type:	Animation
For Sale Status:	0
Views	2005
Comments:	0
Added to Site:	9/6/2012

About the Owner

Jeff Singh
Member Since:	November 2004

Reference Image
Artist: 2005 Views

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Several Early Models

Art Details

Artist:	Olenka Kleban (All) Hayao Miyazaki (All)
Media Type:	Mixed Media
Art Type:	Commission
For Sale Status:	0
Views	498
Comments:	0
Added to Site:	9/6/2012

About the Owner

Jeff Singh
Member Since:	November 2004

Several Early Models
Artist: Olenka Kleban (All)
Hayao Miyazaki (All)
498 Views

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Small Scale Prototype

Art Details

Artist:	Olenka Kleban (All) Hayao Miyazaki (All) Olenka Kleban (All) Hayao Miyazaki (All)
Media Type:	Mixed Media
Art Type:	Commission
For Sale Status:	0
Views	569
Comments:	0
Added to Site:	9/6/2012

About the Owner

Jeff Singh
Member Since:	November 2004

Small Scale Prototype
Artist: Olenka Kleban (All)
Hayao Miyazaki (All)
Olenka Kleban (All)
Hayao Miyazaki (All)
569 Views

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First Full size Totoro

Art Details

Artist:	Olenka Kleban (All) Hayao Miyazaki (All)
Media Type:	Mixed Media
Art Type:	Commission
For Sale Status:	0
Views	1817
Comments:	0
Added to Site:	9/6/2012

About the Owner

Jeff Singh
Member Since:	November 2004

First Full size Totoro
Artist: Olenka Kleban (All)
Hayao Miyazaki (All)
1817 Views

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Final Clay Model

Art Details

Artist:	Olenka Kleban (All) Hayao Miyazaki (All)
Media Type:	Mixed Media
Art Type:	Commission
For Sale Status:	0
Views	1885
Comments:	0
Added to Site:	9/6/2012

About the Owner

Jeff Singh
Member Since:	November 2004

Final Clay Model
Artist: Olenka Kleban (All)
Hayao Miyazaki (All)
1885 Views

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Final Clay model - ready for casting

Art Details

Artist:	Olenka Kleban (All) Hayao Miyazaki (All)
Media Type:	Mixed Media
Art Type:	Commission
For Sale Status:	0
Views	1974
Comments:	0
Added to Site:	9/6/2012

About the Owner

Jeff Singh
Member Since:	November 2004

Final Clay model - ready for casting
Artist: Olenka Kleban (All)
Hayao Miyazaki (All)
1974 Views

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Casting - 3 images

Art Details

Artist:	Olenka Kleban (All) Hayao Miyazaki (All)
Media Type:	Mixed Media
Art Type:	Commission
For Sale Status:	0
Views	595
Comments:	0
Added to Site:	9/6/2012

About the Owner

Jeff Singh
Member Since:	November 2004

Casting - 3 images
Artist: Olenka Kleban (All)
Hayao Miyazaki (All)
595 Views

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Open cast

Art Details

Artist:	Olenka Kleban (All) Hayao Miyazaki (All) Hayao Miyazaki (All)
Media Type:	Mixed Media
Art Type:	Commission
For Sale Status:	0
Views	486
Comments:	0
Added to Site:	9/6/2012

About the Owner

Jeff Singh
Member Since:	November 2004

Open cast
Artist: Olenka Kleban (All)
Hayao Miyazaki (All)
Hayao Miyazaki (All)
486 Views

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A statue is born - 3 images

Art Details

Artist:	Olenka Kleban (All) Hayao Miyazaki (All)
Media Type:	Mixed Media
Art Type:	Commission
For Sale Status:	0
Views	557
Comments:	0
Added to Site:	9/6/2012

About the Owner

Jeff Singh
Member Since:	November 2004

A statue is born - 3 images
Artist: Olenka Kleban (All)
Hayao Miyazaki (All)
557 Views

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Moving In - Multiple images

Art Details

Artist:	Olenka Kleban (All) Hayao Miyazaki (All)
Media Type:	Mixed Media
Art Type:	Commission
For Sale Status:	0
Views	612
Comments:	0
Added to Site:	9/6/2012

About the Owner

Jeff Singh
Member Since:	November 2004

Moving In - Multiple images
Artist: Olenka Kleban (All)
Hayao Miyazaki (All)
612 Views

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Artist and her work

Art Details

Artist:	Olenka Kleban (All) Hayao Miyazaki (All)
Media Type:	Mixed Media
Art Type:	Photograph
For Sale Status:	0
Views	770
Comments:	0
Added to Site:	9/6/2012

About the Owner

Jeff Singh
Member Since:	November 2004

Artist and her work
Artist: Olenka Kleban (All)
Hayao Miyazaki (All)
770 Views

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Ridley and Totoro

Art Details

Artist:	Olenka Kleban (All) Hayao Miyazaki (All)
Media Type:	Mixed Media
Art Type:	Commission
For Sale Status:	0
Views	965
Comments:	2
Added to Site:	9/6/2012

About the Owner

Jeff Singh
Member Since:	November 2004

Ridley and Totoro
Artist: Olenka Kleban (All)
Hayao Miyazaki (All)
965 Views, 2 Comments

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Finally

Art Details

Artist:	Olenka Kleban (All) Hayao Miyazaki (All)
Media Type:	Mixed Media
Art Type:	Commission
For Sale Status:	0
Views	3612
Comments:	7
Added to Site:	9/6/2012

About the Owner

Jeff Singh
Member Since:	November 2004

Finally
Artist: Olenka Kleban (All)
Hayao Miyazaki (All)
3612 Views, 7 Comments

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Finally too

Art Details

Artist:	Olenka Kleban (All) Hayao Miyazaki (All)
Media Type:	Mixed Media
Art Type:	Commission
For Sale Status:	0
Views	2320
Comments:	3
Added to Site:	9/6/2012

About the Owner

Jeff Singh
Member Since:	November 2004

Finally too
Artist: Olenka Kleban (All)
Hayao Miyazaki (All)
2320 Views, 3 Comments

There are 15 Pieces of Art In This Gallery.    

About the Owner Jeff Singh ( 7 ) Premium Gallery Owner Joined: November 2004 Last Login: September 2025 Website: http://www.art4comics.com Country: CANADA On CAF: Premium Member Q&A Jeff's Classifieds Jeff's Want List Artworks Commented On Liked Art Site Activity on CAF Read More About JeffSingh

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