Final Flight

Thu, 20 Nov 2008 09:26:34 -0600

A little painting post for the day. I found this little fellow in the window sill when we were removing the air conditioners for the winter. This post can also be seen on the Vitruvian Fine Art Studio’s blog and is available for sale. Click here for details.

Not a pretty sight...

Mon, 28 Jul 2008 09:32:43 -0500

This is both a satisfying AND discouraging part of the process. Mould makers have my utmost respect for I’m not the bet at this process, especially with an “experimental” mould.

After I did as much repair as I could, I then brushed on a gel coat of AquaResin as the initial surface of the cast. I then reinforced it by adding fiberglass to the mixture. Depending on the ratios, AquaResin can have a pot life of 15 minute to 40 minutes. Here I’ve kept it rather fluid as I will later have more luck in working back into the surface of the cast due to a greater cure time.

Once the AquaResin is set, it should be stable enough for me to pull the plaster mould off with the help of a little water to loosen the plaster gauze. It doesn’t look pretty, for sure, but it’s in there somewhere and it just takes a little patience and persistence to find the cast amidst all the debris.

Casting Call

Tue, 15 Jul 2008 13:45:42 -0500

Finally! After a few weeks of distraction, I’m back on the wagon and ready for the casting process of my winning sculpture.

Pulling the mold off of the clay proved to be trickier than usual as I did a rather hasty job in making a mold in the first place (this is a “do as I say, not as I do” scenario). Because I had limited time, my mold consisted of a plaster splash coat and plaster gauze as the main “bulk” of the mold. The gauze held up pretty well and was relatively light in weight as I needed it to be to travel home with. I managed to do the mold in three pieces.

Despite a few breaks here and there and having lost a fair amount of the feet, the mold is glued and repaired with holes filled in and reinforcements added. I’m now ready to begin the casting process.

Because of it’s fantastic workability and low toxicity, I will be using AquaResin to cast my sculpture. All I have to do now is wait for it to be delivered (in the next day or so) and I’ll be ready to go!

National Sculpture Competition – Day 5

Fri, 20 Jun 2008 21:07:47 -0500

With only three hours today before judging, the room was in a bit of a scramble to get the sculptures finished. I felt pretty good through it all although I would have liked a little more time to work on details such as the toes, fingers, and hair. Overall I was confident with what I “completed” and it was now up to the judges to determine what would be the best representation. The esteemed judges this year were: Carter Jones, Neil Estern, and Nina Akamu.

After a few hours of deliberating, the votes were in... and after two other sculptures were named third and second, my sculpture was pulled up front as the winner of this year’s competition! A great honor, seeing that the group of competitors I was among were all pretty amazing, both as sculptors and as friends and peers.

I considered casting the sculpture earlier in the week, but now felt real pressure to do so after winning. Probably the fastest mould I’ve ever made, I have yet to pull the pieces apart due to the summer humidity and the dampness of the plaster. I’ll keep everyone posted as to the progress of that new endeavor in the coming weeks. Thanks for all the great support and encouragement from those of you who have been following this crazy week. It definitely kept me going!

Here are the final pictures... Enjoy!

National Sculpture Competition – Day 4

Thu, 19 Jun 2008 22:35:47 -0500

Today felt like a long distance sprint - if that makes any sense. I don't think I've ever worked so fast or so hard at a sculpture as I did today. I hoped I would be near completion by the end of the day so as to coast through in the morning with simple finishing tasks. All I really have left to deal with are the hands and feet... maybe a little more attention to the knees and all should be done.

All in all, this competition has been a fabulous experience! Those of you who know me well know I love a good competition and enjoy pushing myself to be better and faster (whether it be in rowing or in sculpture).