 Original clay relief enclosed by wooden mold frame boards  Plaster cast from clay relief enclosed in wooden mold frame. The first layer of plaster was tinted blue to differentiate it from the white of the final plaster cast during mold removal. | 'Close-Up' is a plaster relief that I will be entering in the upcoming 'Black, White & Gray' juried show at the River Arts Gallery in Damariscotta. The original image was made out of clay and then cast in plaster in a plaster waste mold. Usually the waste mold process only allows you to make one cast of an original piece since the mold is chipped away to reveal the casting, however, in this case, I was able to remake additional molds from the clay original. I took particular care to make sure that the frame boards and the clay were coated with separator (a liquid mixture called 'waterglass', made up of of 4 parts water & 6 parts sodium silicate) so that the mold and cast would not stick to each other. The separator, combined with the lack of texture and undercuts in the design, allowed me to remove the plaster cast without causing any major damage to the clay surface. I was then able to make 2 more molds, one of which I later used to create a wax copy of the image. I eventually cast that wax in bronze (see below). I expect to utilize that 2nd mold in the future in some way ...and if I need more - I still have the clay original stored away in plastic! |
 Final plaster cast of relief and mounting board |  'Close-Up' mounted on painted board... 15 1/4" x 16 x 3" |  'Artist Close Up'... 11" x 11" x 2" ...bronze |
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