I started the process last week at the Joe Blasco School lab by casting a recent bust of mine in alginate (in 2-parts), then sealing the alginate in HydroCal soaked burlap.
With both negatives sealed together I gathered all the clay I could find and boiled it down to a molten soup. I then poured the boiling liquid clay down the sealed cast. My huge head took the whole damn crock pot and then some!
After letting it sit over night, I returned the next morning and cracked the cast open to reveal...
My most hideous creation yet!
Next came casting my ears separately in their own bowls of alginate. FYI, wear a bald cap during this step. Alginate in your hair really sucks.
There was a tour going through the school at the time. One girl arrived in the lab just in time to see me dunk my ear in the mysterious blue goo. She looked pretty grossed out. I have a feeling she'll stick with the Beauty Course.
After pouring a couple clay ears (which were a bit more difficult to get a good positive out of) and attaching them to the head, I took the piece to Sticks and Stones, where Rob guided me along the next stage of sculpting. We drilled in to the bottom of the neck and placed the head on a steel rod, which allowed me to get in beneath the sculpture and even out the back.
I finished off the day by fine raking the entire head to get my final form. I'll go in with one last ultra-fine rake to smooth it out in the morning.
Tomorrow I'll be crafting my teeth from a hard 16/30 polyurethane (my first time working with the stuff), detailing the ears and nostrils, and hopefully have everything smoothed out for texturing on Thursday.
Until then...good night!
