Thursday, March 2, 2017

A well-deserved halo


Today I made a start on dividing the clay in readiness for taking the plaster “waste mold”. The halo that circles Annabelle’s head is the brass shim that I use for separating one section of the mold from the next. The halo is a well-deserved for Annabelle has faithfully given body and soul to the work in progress. If the painter Degas or the sculpture Rodin were alive today they would surely steal her from me! As with Enzo Plazzotta’s Jamaican Girl, she leaves Grecian Goddesses in the shade.

On the technical side, deciding how to position divisions has given me sleepless nights. A mistake means that the mold cannot be separated. Every division has to be carefully considered, both in terms of the line it follows and the angle required for release. Then, section after section of shim has to be cut and carefully inserted into the clay with the precision of a brain surgeon.


The term “waste mold” is apt, for in releasing the mold the clay is spoiled. If the mold is flawed, months of labour are lost: a daunting prospect!

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