Foundry, round III

It's done!

Layered liver of sulfur and ferric nitrate patinas with a shoe wax finish.  It still smells like smoke.  I think it could've done without the ferric, which isn't highly evident on the finished piece, but I said I would try both, so I did.  You can see some in the deeper recess such as around the neck.

My first attempt at a clay positive for a sand-cast bas relief.  Obviously it'll require some re-moistening and building up so it won't fall apart (the plaster mold is actually supposed to be made while the clay is still slightly damp).

On another note, the first coat of ceramic on my chape came out slightly bubbled and crazed despite my best efforts.  On the first two coats, I tried to blow ceramic into every tiny crevice until I was dizzy.  The next bronze pour isn't for another three weeks, so I can take my time on the remainder.  I may make a silicon mold after cleaning up the casting, though it's a long shot if that'd be any use to anyone.

Foundry, round II

The Laughing Buddha of Newtown survived the casting process intact, but with a number of little warts caused by bubbles in the initial ceramic coat.  I'll have to remember to wear some well-fitting rubber gloves and pop every single bubble when I get around to my slurrying my akinakes chape, which is similarly  detailed.

I didn't take any photos of the gating or slurrying process, because 1)  it would've been difficult in the middle of class, especially in the very messy and crowded slurry room, and 2)  you can find plenty of photos of those processes, and they weren't unique in any way for my project.

For the past nine days, I've been grinding and cutting away the stubs and filing down the bubbles as well as various small ripples caused by the inevitable imperfection of the wax positive.

Next up is grinding off the last stump of the gate, and then applying the patina.

Foundry, round I

Here's the wax positive for my first assignment in Foundry, creating a talisman.  I worked from a little souvenir shop statue my parents have had for many years of the Laughing Buddha, whose astounding belly brings good luck to all.

I'm an American, and 13 years after reading Siddhartha in high school, the image that comes to my mind when I think of a "Buddha" is still the Chinese figure of Budai or Hotei.  Depending on who you ask, Budai may be a Buddha - a previous incarnation of the future Maitreya Buddha - but in no case is he claimed to be the Buddha, i.e. Siddhartha Gautama, the Buddha who founded Buddhism.  Nonetheless "Buddha" sounds like a rather round and jolly word to an English-speaker and that may be one reason the image is so persistent.

He's still not finished; the feet and left hand all need digits carved and I haven't attached his ears yet, plus the model should be hollowed out as much as reasonably possible.  However, the Sun was going down and the was may well be covered in slurry by tomorrow, so I figured it was now or never.

The one thing I'm not satisfied with is his face, which looks less jolly than the original, and more like a fat cave troll laughing at your doom.  Well, I did my best.