Wednesday, October 26, 2011

Baby bunny continued...

This is from a Philadelphia Sculpture Gym blog post I just put up but I wanted to share it here too!

I have been dying to start this mold, but since the rubber I had on hand didn't fully set up, I had to order a new kit (The rubber I had was leftover from a commission I got in 2008 so it really didn't owe anyone a thing...I was surprised it lasted as long as it did...) Because it hadn't arrived before I left for the studio (sometimes Polytek's turnaround time is ridiculously fast) I decided to do a blanket mold instead of a paint on mold. Below are some of the process photos.


  Baby bunny before the mold (I still have a few things to tweak before he's fully finished, but like to do that after making the mother mold...just in case.)


I covered him with a thin sheet of plastic to protect him from the clay blanket.

This is me cutting slabs of clay to use for the blanket...which is not easy to do while simultaneously trying to take a photo.

Covering the rabbit with the slabs of clay.

Fully covered. (It looks like an ugly potato.)

   
Now for a flange around the bottom and a strip of clay along the length of the piece.

And 2 pieces of clay that will end up as a pour hole and a vent. 

I then added some metal shims along that key that runs the length of the piece so I could do both sides of the mother mold at once. I Vaselined the board and the shims and then mixed up some plaster, threw on a splash coat and then one layer of burlap. I thickened up the edges so I'd have something to bolt through. Because I did this in about 12 minutes (I was running late to pick up Justin for a meeting at our new space!) and had plaster on my hands, I didn't get any photos of me making the mother mold.


After our meeting at the new space, we stopped at Rocket Cat for some coffee (and an apple for O'Rae). Then back to work.
 

I pulled out the metal shims...

...then carefully removed the first side of the mold...then the other.
 
He survived!


I cleaned out the clay from the inside of the mother mold, placing it all in a multi mix bucket to measure roughly how much rubber I'll need to pour into the mother mold.

I then cleaned up the edges a bit and put it back together. 

 
Once the rubber arrives, I'll finish the mold, so stay tuned for Part II!

Monday, October 10, 2011

Almost Done!



This baby bunny is sailing along and is almost ready for his mold...Just some more tweaking on the feet, fur and the crow mask. Anyone who's interested in getting a great deal on this piece, check out our Kickstarter page and donate at the $50 level. This little guy is the piece I made for the sculpture reward at that level! After our Kickstarter is over he'll be priced at $250 in my Etsy shop, so this is a sweet little deal for a sweet little guy!



And thank goodness I have a daughter who thinks sculpting is cool and lends a hand from time to time...

Wednesday, October 5, 2011

Sneak Peek: Baby Rabbit

Here's a sneak peek of the baby rabbit piece in progress...

 

Still needs a bunch of tweaking but so far I'm liking it...


And this guy is something I worked on last night at Fleisher...One of my students, Nikki, brought in her dog, Sammy and a bunch of us had a great time sculpting him...so adorable and so well behaved!!


Tuesday, October 4, 2011

Baby Rabbit for Kickstarter!


I started sculpting this piece last night. I knew I wanted to do something special to offer as the reward for the $50 Kickstarter level (which offers a choice of either a small sculpture from Justin or I or a 1 week membership to the Philadelphia Sculpture Gym when we open) but I didn't know what. Then yesterday it hit me that I'd like to do a piece that worked with What are you afraid of?, one of my favorite pieces I've made to date (hey, I like rabbits!) I imagine this guy to be that piece at a young age (is that weird?) and am loving it so far. (Clay photos to come...right now the piece is in the car under a horse skull...don't ask.) The pieces always change atleast a bit from sketch to finished piece but I expect he will be in the 5-6" range. After the Kickstarter run is over I'll offer the piece for sale in my Etsy shop but for $200-$300, depending on the finished size. So if you are interested in getting a fancy piece while the gettin' is good, check out our Kickstarter page at the $50 level before October 19th! And check back for more photos!