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update on 2 large scale plaster mould conundrums

updated fri 23 sep 05

 

Ama Menec on thu 22 sep 05


Many thanks to all who helped with suggestions for large scale mould making,
and most especially to Tom Buck for all his help off list on suggestions for
micro-crystal 06-04 glaze recipes, (which is still on-going, so if anyone
has any other suggestions as to how to make a white matt micro-crystalline
low fire glaze, please, please do let me know!).

I was asked to let you know when/if the Large Cycladic Sculptures got fired,
if they came out ok, and what they looked like. I got them fired just in
time for 9 Days of Art here in Devon. They fired fine, no cracking or
warping of the figures. The glaze firing was a little hot, but they seem ok
all the same. And they are now on my website if you'd like to see 'em. They
are at www.amamenec.co.uk One of them is presently at an exhibition of the
South West Sculptors Association, and the other is heading off to another
local exhibition soon.

I shall be changing the plaster I'm using to Prestia Creation by Lafarge as
it is even harder than Herculite and can be spread on as a thin but hard
shell. I have several new pieces ready, and almost ready, to try this out,
so hope to do this in the next month. I'll also be trying out a tightening
strap system to force the halves together rather than the
belting-it-with-a-rubber-mallet method that I've been using so far. And I
may try reinforcing it with fibreglass for the bigger pieces. I'll let you
know what works.

Meanwhile the mould for the Large Cycladic sculpture that bowed is cracking
quite badly along the mid point where it's bending the most. It's only a
matter of time before it snaps in half, so I shall be making the mould again
before you know it, hopefully using this new technique.

Thanks to everyone who assured me I wasn't going mad and that plaster can
and does warp after it has set. I have a banana shaped mould to prove it!

Ama Menec, Totnes, Devon.





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