A trip to Sculpture Supply Store to pick up more Winterstone, icing and mesh was followed by a trip to Canadian Tire to buy threaded rod 6 feet long and connectors then off to Home Depot to buy foam sheets, spray foam, plywood and 2 by 2 lumber. The top of the wooden pedestal was the first item made and the threaded rods attached. Bending the rods proved to be a test of my strength but I managed to win the battle.
At this point the sculpture looks like it belongs on a construction site.
At this point the sculpture looks like it belongs on a construction site.
Chunks of white foam were cut to shape and wedged between the threaded rods at the body then white foam was sprayed to hold them in place. I soon ran out of spray and had to run to Home Hardware to buy more, which happened to be orange colour. No worries, it's all going to be hidden by Winterstone anyway. Another block of white foam was located for the head and held in place by surrounding spray foam. In case you're wondering why I used both spray and foam blocks, I couldn't use just spray foam because it didn't have enough strength to hold its shape for large volumes and I couldn't use just foam blocks because it would have been too difficult to get the threaded rods thought them and have a tight bond.
Now the sculpture looks like a swamp creature froma sci-fi horror flick.
Now the sculpture looks like a swamp creature froma sci-fi horror flick.
Using a sharp knife, the excess foam was shaved away to reveal the female shape within. Once I could see the final form I shaved another 0.5 cm from it to make room for the next applications.
Now the sculpture looks like a flag person dressed in a bright orange safety suit waving for me to stop.
Now the sculpture looks like a flag person dressed in a bright orange safety suit waving for me to stop.
Wrapping wire mesh around the sculpture proved to be more difficult than anticipated. The hands and feet looked disproportioned. The flat wire mesh resisted forming into smooth curves and kept springing out of shape while the sharp wire ends repeated stabbed my fingers. You can't see the blood spots in the photo but be assured that they are there. With needle nose pliers I painstakingly grabbed individual strands, pulled them into place and wrapped them around other pieces of mesh. Pain in my wrist and forearm forced me to stretch this step over several days. By the end my wrist had had lost all flexibility and ached whenever used. It took a week of rest and icing followed by deep massage and stretches to get it rehabilitated.
At this point the sculpture looks like she's wearing a medieval chain mail outfit.
At this point the sculpture looks like she's wearing a medieval chain mail outfit.
The first coat of Winterstone went on well but took several days to apply so I invited my dad over to assist with the second coat. It went so well that I invited him back to help apply the icing coat tomorrow. Now there's a good reward for being a good helper... you get to help even more. I wonder if he'd be as co-operative if he knew that it was leading to an endless series of helping me.
After each application, the sculpture is sanded and sprayed with water for curing then covered with a plastic bag to prevent drying out.
Now the sculpture looks like someone trapped inside a plastic bag (which happens to be one of my fears... suffocation).
After each application, the sculpture is sanded and sprayed with water for curing then covered with a plastic bag to prevent drying out.
Now the sculpture looks like someone trapped inside a plastic bag (which happens to be one of my fears... suffocation).
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