Encased in this blob of pink and purple (and I think I see a spot of turquoise) is "Tee-Nah" one of the new mules. As you saw in the previous post, Barry has been applying alternating layers of pink and purply silicone mold material. Each layer is somewhat thicker than the previous one. At this point, just about the final layer, the silicone is quite thick. Pink frosting thick.
Fellow artists might find interesting the support pipe system that Barry built out of half inch plumbing pipe to suspend the sculptures upside down. It's a really handy stand!
Flipping a sculpture upside down does require that the original sculpture is firmly attached to it's own vertical support pipe. (A few years ago Barry did a mold for an outside client who had not firmly attached her sculpture to her support pipe -- darned if the thing didn't just slide right off as soon as Barry turned it over to apply silicone on the underside. Gaads. Luckily, the only damage was a bent ear tip which was easily fixed.)
Maybe at this point we should take a look at a basic armature system again?
Here is a photo of the floor flange and support pipe that I use. You can find these at any decent plumbing store. The smaller diameter pipe is sometimes harder to find at big box stores, so give your local hardware stores a try.
When I can find a big roll of aluminum clothesline (often at those wonderful small locally owned hardware stores, not at the big box stores) I buy it because it's cheaper than the "armature wire" sold in art stores. But, if you can't find good old fashioned aluminum clothesline wire, go with Alumaloy armature wire. For a "traditional" (1/10th to 1/9th scale) sculpture, the 1/8" gauge armature wire works well. Other types of wire will work but aluminum has the advantage of being non-corrosive, lightweight, really pliable, and much easier to cut. Of course if you'd rather not fuss with finding the plumbing parts and don't mind spending a little bit more you can buy an animal armature. I prefer to build my own because I can unscrew the sculpture (with T-joint and wire embedded in it), remove it from it's vertical support to test how it will stand on it's own.
Now that we've reviewed the internal structure of a sculpture, you're all set to follow along as I begin a new piece. Yes! As Barry has been working on molding Iko and Tee-Nah I've plunged into creating my next dynamic duo (possibly trio). The next post will have pix from the first phase of work, so be sure to check back!
In the meantime, here's a peek at a fellow who is in the kiln now, "Enviado" #3 in ceramic. He's going to be a dappled sooty buckskin and should be very pretty when he's done.
The photo above shows him with just his first couple of layers of color. I'll snap another pic for you when I've made a bit more progress.
~ Lynn
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