"Slowly I turned.. Step by step.. Inch by inch.."
Revealing the sculpture that was cast using plaster inside a plaster mold, has been a learning experience in several ways.
Lesson One - plaster is plenty strong enough to withstand molten bronze, as long as it is thoroughly dry and properly vented. If I had known how tough this old plaster was, I'd be looking at finished bronze by now.
Lesson Two - The original wax sculpture was a lot more rudimentary than I thought. I suppose I thought because it was an experiment, there wasn't any sense wasting a lot of time on details and refinement. Which makes me glad I *didn't* have it cast in bronze, because refining bronze after it's cast, would be tough.
Lesson Three - When casting plaster inside plaster, adding a tint to it would have been really helpful, so that you could tell when you get to the part you want to save.
As it is, the only signs are a little wax residue and smooth shapes instead of rough, broken plaster texture. Even so, at some point he lost his chin to the chisel, which I hope to repair by adding plaster and carving it back.
Still - from this angle, his mustache only adds the effect of making him look like Sam Elliot - and that's not all bad..
"Slowly I turned.. Step by step.. Inch by inch.."
Revealing the sculpture that was cast using plaster inside a plaster mold, has been a learning experience in several ways.
Lesson One - plaster is plenty strong enough to withstand molten bronze, as long as it is thoroughly dry and properly vented. If I had known how tough this old plaster was, I'd be looking at finished bronze by now.
Lesson Two - The original wax sculpture was a lot more rudimentary than I thought. I suppose I thought because it was an experiment, there wasn't any sense wasting a lot of time on details and refinement. Which makes me glad I *didn't* have it cast in bronze, because refining bronze after it's cast, would be tough.
Lesson Three - When casting plaster inside plaster, adding a tint to it would have been really helpful, so that you could tell when you get to the part you want to save.
As it is, the only signs are a little wax residue and smooth shapes instead of rough, broken plaster texture. Even so, at some point he lost his chin to the chisel, which I hope to repair by adding plaster and carving it back.
Still - from this angle, his mustache only adds the effect of making him look like Sam Elliot - and that's not all bad..