Kees (a commissioned piece)

This was a dog commission involving a pet that had passed away and was very loved. Kees was a Colorado Red and looked an awful lot like a dingo.

Kees

This is looking down and the wax is just sitting on a stool but it gives you the idea of where I was headed with the subject. The dog had a favorite spot in the yard that he laid in and I gave the impression of that spot and also the edge of the brick work so that it gave the patron a familiarity.




silicon in tin

  The clay was produced on a laminated board, the floor covered with paste wax done with a paint brush and I placed a round shaped piece of tin around the clay as a wall to hold the silicon. My friend (thanks Deb) laid in a sealant of glue gun along the bottom to secure the tin and keep it from leaking out the bottom. I painted the entire surface of the tin with paste wax as well. Note: this silicone is so able to pick up fine detail that as I removed the tin I realized the silicone even captured my brush strokes of the wax on the wall.


tin wall with clamp

 Always remember that anything you come in contact with the medium is going to end up with a rubber splash so be careful of your surroundings and use the release spray on anything that will come in contact with the silicon so that that does not become the case. In other words you spray the dog and sides with release even though you have painted the entire wall with paste wax. You do not want to interfere with the surface of your clay though with the wax so just use the release on it.

I have mentioned this silicone before Platsil 71-20 RTV Silicone Rubber mix 1 x 10 ratio Part A and Part B, use vinyl gloves (not latex) measure carefully down to grams for volume (can't fluctuate by 5% or more or error) used scale to weigh exact grams of each, scraped and mixed both together very thoroughly. Note: I don't know how you can do this and keep it such a perfect mix without using the gram scale (thanks Deb). You have a 30 minute window once it is combined to get it all mixed and into your tin walled off area.

mold material is white so picture difficult

After setting for a minimum of four hours the tin is removed and based upon marks left you slit the rubber to allow your original clay to escape.  On the dog I placed a crimped piece of tin as a shim between his ears (thanks for the idea of crimping it Walt) where I would know exactly where to cut the mold material.

This shows the mold after removing everything and at this time you need to decide whether or not you are going to give it more support by making a plaster mold over the silicon for support, I opted not to because of the size. To do a plaster support just move your tin frame out a bit and make your basic plaster, fiber glass mold over it and let dry. Often this keeps  your wax from moving during pour or set up and creating weak spots or cracks.