After waiting a few days for the Winterstone shoulders to harden, the sculpture was ready for a foam core. To hold the spray foam in place, a box had to be secured to the frame. I wanted to make sure that foam filled the entire box with minimal air pockets so I cut the box front into three sections so that foam could be added one third at a time. Spray a can of foam into the bottom third then go away for a day to let it expand and harden. Close the middle third of the box front and spray it full of foam then go away for another day. Finally, close the top third and spray it full of foam then go away for a final day.
Surprise. The foam expanded more than anticipated, blowing out the box seams. No worries, just more material to carve away once the cardboard box was removed.
Shave, shave and shave more. Carve the foam down into a rectangular bag shape. Measure the foam and compare it to the scale model Princess sculpture. Carve more where needed until the body was finished.
Next I took an 8" foam ball that my daughter Ashley had given me last Christmas and used it as a starting point for the head. I drilled a hole in the bottom and placed it over the neck rod. Carve the ball into a head shape. Redrill the hole to adjust its depth and angle. Carve the head smaller. Compare it to the scale model. Carve again. I left a nose shape on the foam head throughout the carving to help visualize the final sculpture's shape. Then as a final step I cut the foam nose off. If I had left it there, future layers of wire mesh and Winterstone would make the nose too large. Better to start with no nose at all.
Next I took an 8" foam ball that my daughter Ashley had given me last Christmas and used it as a starting point for the head. I drilled a hole in the bottom and placed it over the neck rod. Carve the ball into a head shape. Redrill the hole to adjust its depth and angle. Carve the head smaller. Compare it to the scale model. Carve again. I left a nose shape on the foam head throughout the carving to help visualize the final sculpture's shape. Then as a final step I cut the foam nose off. If I had left it there, future layers of wire mesh and Winterstone would make the nose too large. Better to start with no nose at all.
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