Excelsior and direct plaster modelling
Elijah
Back in the sculpture game after a longish furlough. Found a nice
plaster modelling book called Sculpture in Progress which follows
Chaim Gross's progress on a plaster sculpture from start to finish.
Aluminum wire armature, then he uses plaster-soaked excelsior to bulk
the thing up (which doesn't add much weight I guess?) before using
plaster-soaked gauze then adding plaster directly.
Any reason to use excelsior instead of sisal, or even shredded burlap?
Is excelsior the sort of thing to buy locally, or must it be ordered
in bulk online and it's huge and the UPS guy glares at me *ahem*
balefully?
I don't like playing with wireform (even the expensive art ones that
don't puncture your fingers), but my sculptures are more volume based
than Gross's line-based plaster pieces... am I chewing myself on the
forehead if I do direct plaster modelling without a wireform
underneath?
Hi I'm going to be a high school art teacher in a couple of years
which is neat but maybe I'm kicking myself in the hip.
Elijah!
http://www.kaufmangallery.com/
where there is nothing new this year to look at
"September is the nicest month of the year, it's when I can finally
stop thinking myself in the ear."
-Julio Gonzalez
"Quit while you're ahead."
-Giovanni Pisano
Gary Waller
"Elijah" <semi...@REMOVEhotmail.com> wrote in message
news:7tnklv445p57p5fj8...@4ax.com...
> Howdy!
> Back in the sculpture game after a longish furlough. Found a nice
> plaster modelling book called Sculpture in Progress which follows
> Chaim Gross's progress on a plaster sculpture from start to finish.
> Aluminum wire armature, then he uses plaster-soaked excelsior to bulk
> the thing up (which doesn't add much weight I guess?) before using
> plaster-soaked gauze then adding plaster directly.
>
> Any reason to use excelsior instead of sisal, or even shredded burlap?
>
>
Sounds like an interesting book. Excelsior or 'wood wool' is still around,
it is used to make panelboard (OSB), made from softwood trees like aspen,
etc. It is still used to pack machinery parts because it can be soaked in
oil. I think styrofoam has taken over as the cheap volume filler for your
purpose but I have grown to develop an intense dislike for this material.
You can still buy a bale of hemp from Douglas & Sturgess or Freeman Supply.
This is still the best choice for reinforcement, etc., silky smooth, strong,
but you can also ball it up. The advantage of the hemp and naturals is that
if you get any 'whiskers' sticking out of the plaster, you can burn them off
with a propane torch - don't try that with fiberglass or plastics. The
trouble with the naturals is that they cannot work in a lime environment, ie
lime based modelling plasters (stucco), and they hold a lot of water - a
problem if you work in the cool, dank warehouse pits that I can afford.
> i I'm going to be a high school art teacher in a couple of years
> which is neat but maybe I'm kicking myself in the hip.
>
> Elijah!
> http://www.kaufmangallery.com/
> where there is nothing new this year to look at
Armatures are at the core of every problem you will encounter in sculpture.
You simply have to learn how to weld with a light duty MIG welder - it is so
easy, and the steel rod is so cheap. More importantly, I would bet that any
serious high school level art students are going to be attracted to sparks,
and the many creative things you can do with metal. You would have to team
up with the metal shop teacher, for safety and liability reasons, but this
definitely going to make your job easier and inspiring to many young minds.
Building a big armature, with one person welding, would be a great class
project. I would have to check, but I think a 20 foot piece of 1/4 inch
round steel is about $5. I bought my MIG welder for $125, but I already had
the gas, gauge, batteries (mine is dc direct, don't need AC power - I can
weld in a farmer's field), gloves, helmet and respirator. You can weld
aluminum with it too (I have not tried this yet) and stainless steel is just
as easy as mild steel. Remember that these are mostly 'tack' welds, not
'running beads' a skill of higher level which is strictly related to
practise and experience.
Gary Waller
dipped in fresh plaster, and then laid up on a surface. Sort of like bright
white grass, which can be sculpted. I was originally going to use as a
textured wall finish, but I can only find small quantities of short pieces
so far.
Elijah
>
>Sounds like an interesting book. Excelsior or 'wood wool' is still around,
>it is used to make panelboard (OSB), made from softwood trees like aspen,
>etc. It is still used to pack machinery parts because it can be soaked in
>oil. I think styrofoam has taken over as the cheap volume filler for your
>purpose but I have grown to develop an intense dislike for this material.
>You can still buy a bale of hemp from Douglas & Sturgess or Freeman Supply.
>This is still the best choice for reinforcement, etc., silky smooth, strong,
>but you can also ball it up. The advantage of the hemp and naturals is that
>if you get any 'whiskers' sticking out of the plaster, you can burn them off
>with a propane torch - don't try that with fiberglass or plastics. The
>trouble with the naturals is that they cannot work in a lime environment, ie
>lime based modelling plasters (stucco), and they hold a lot of water - a
>problem if you work in the cool, dank warehouse pits that I can afford.
ah neat, so I'll try styrofoam for now, until harvest time comes
around :- D
thanks
>
>> i I'm going to be a high school art teacher in a couple of years
>> which is neat but maybe I'm kicking myself in the hip.
>>
>> Elijah!
>> http://www.kaufmangallery.com/
>> where there is nothing new this year to look at
>
>Armatures are at the core of every problem you will encounter in sculpture.
>You simply have to learn how to weld with a light duty MIG welder - it is so
>easy, and the steel rod is so cheap. More importantly, I would bet that any
>serious high school level art students are going to be attracted to sparks,
>and the many creative things you can do with metal. You would have to team
>up with the metal shop teacher, for safety and liability reasons, but this
>definitely going to make your job easier and inspiring to many young minds.
>Building a big armature, with one person welding, would be a great class
>project. I would have to check, but I think a 20 foot piece of 1/4 inch
>round steel is about $5. I bought my MIG welder for $125, but I already had
>the gas, gauge, batteries (mine is dc direct, don't need AC power - I can
>weld in a farmer's field), gloves, helmet and respirator. You can weld
>aluminum with it too (I have not tried this yet) and stainless steel is just
>as easy as mild steel. Remember that these are mostly 'tack' welds, not
>'running beads' a skill of higher level which is strictly related to
>practise and experience.
>
oh, well, I'll probably end up in West Philly teaching
middle-schoolers where the only art materials they can afford are
waterclay and tempura paints. The majority of art lessons in
elementary, middle and high school revolve around cheap and very safe
materials. Going to focus on learning how to use those well enough
before I move on to MIG welding which it is likely I will never get to
teach. And if Bush gets reelected then there'll be even less money
for education and the arts.
Sculptingman
To create large volume plasters, start with the simplest sturdy metal
frame you can and over that place galvanized CHICKENWIRE. The metal
frame need only be strong enough to hold the chickenwire form in shape
while the plaster is heavy and wet.
You can cut, pleat, curve and compress chickenwire to form just about
any kind of volume.
Over the chickenwire you can place mats of plaster soaked sisal- or
even cheap plaster bandages, with a thinner layer of plaster over
that.
when the fiber filled plaster has set, shellac the entire surface and
then go over it all again with a pure plaster puttycoat. Make it
thick enough to allow you to carve where you need to carve without
exposing sisal.
The sisal impregnated plaster and chickenwire will make a plaster
shell that is remarkably strong and lightweight (once the water
content boils out)
christopher
Roy Tamboli
Cheer up Elijah!
Tadorne
New plaster sculptor, here. Why do I want to shellac the surface of
the armature before coating it with plaster?
TIA
Tadorne
Elijah <semi...@REMOVEhotmail.com> wrote in message news:<7tnklv445p57p5fj8...@4ax.com>...
Sculptingman
> the armature before coating it with plaster?
of something that does not rust, as rust will expand the metal and
fracture the plaster from within. So use galvanized or stainless.
The shellac goes on anytime you finish one coat of plaster and will be
needing to add subsequent coats of fresh plaster over plaster that is
already set.
The shellac prevents the set plaster from drawing the water out of the
fresh plaster (which would stop the fresh plaster from properly
crystalizing.)
When you apply fresh plaster over set and shellaced plaster you get a
bond that will not come apart without a chisel and mallet.
Because the shellac's purpose is to seal the plaster, you can also use
shellac to prepare plaster for a separation agent, like mold soap or
vaseline. In this application the shellac prevents the dry plaster
from absorbing the separation agent, so it will stay on the surface
where you want it.
christopher