Basic form starting to take shape.
I generally try to work from life, but its always handy to have some photos to refer to.
Ear detail. I love the ears. After doing this sculpture I have been looking at the wonderful sculptural forms that are the ears of my family. I plan to give them more focus in future works.
Nearly ready to cast. I couldn't decide whether to sculpt in the pupils. Often the eyeballs in classical sculpture are left plain, however in antiquity they may have been painted in.
I was making a two piece waste mould. Meaning I would make a two part plaster cast. The brass fencing adorning his head creates a thin barrier/ division between the two parts of the mould.
I decided to sculpt the pupils. It makes him look far more alive.
After making the plaster mould I needed to separate the two halves and remove the clay. Soaking the cast in a little water causes the clay to expand and thus forces the two halves apart. After separating the two halves I gently removed the clay without being to vigorous and damaging the plaster. I was lucky that the face pulled out in one piece. I have it on my work bench eerily looking at me.
I got so engrossed in the project that I forgot to take pictures of the concrete stage. However after removing the clay it was given a thorough wash and the mould kept wet. I then gave it a rinse of soft soap to help separate concrete from plaster later on. I filled the two halves separately. A layer of white cement slurry followed by a thick layer of white cement mixed with pebble aggregate, reinforcing the cement with hessian strips. I then joined the two halves and as the sculpture is hollow reached inside and reinforced the internal seam. Once the two halves were together they were strapped together and left to cure for a few days. I didn't want the piece to dry out so I draped wet clothes across the top.
After chipping him from the mould there were a few areas that needed to be patched up, so I made a new mixture of cement slurry and pasted it on. He was then sanded to finish.
