This 30″ tall relief sculpture in cast, fired, and glazed terra cotta will sit on the facade pilaster of a gothic revival, urban church building in Washington, DC.
Installed!
All the masking tape removed! Tada!PaintingGilding the lettersGilding detailThere were some problems with the blue background, and we needed to remove it and re-finish it. The piece couldn’t withstand another firing, so it’s being finished with enamel paint.Fortunately, we had made 2 copies, and the second one made it through the glaze firing!Disaster! (Cracked in Glaze Firing)In the kiln with blue base coat. (Photo courtesy of ceramic artist.)Front of cast ceramic piece after de-mold and touchup. Ready for delivery to kiln!Flipping the whole mold/cast/backing assembly.The back of the cast ceramic piece.Beginning to cast one of the ceramic copies that will be fired. Given the uncertain nature of firing clay (crack and exploding pieces happens!) We made two copies of the piece.First casting of the plaster prototype!Mold removed from the clay model and ready for casting of the plaster prototype.Hard shell of Epoxy Putty (Freeform Air from SmoothOn) over the silicone rubber. Part of the mold making process.Adding more silicone rubber in the mold making process.Mold MakingFinished Clay Model with Lettering and Chi RhoNearly there… still need clean up and some details and lettering.On after consulting the copy and another mentor sculptor, decided to bring the wings forward. It will add some time to re-work things, but I think it will be worth it.Found this copy of a Della Robbia sculpture (the sculptor who is my inspiration for this project!) in the warehouse where my studio is!Developing the form in more detail and roundness.Rough in of Big ShapesStatus as of beginning of January: The oval shaped in clay – 31″x20″x3″ and ready to be carved into. Clay added to board.The blank oval. Next, I’ll screw some screws into the board and wind wire between them to hold the clay in place when it is added. Drawing a template for the oval shape of the shrine. The screws are the foci of the oval, and the wire is used for drawing the outline.The Model for the Proposal in ProgressConcept drawing for the shrine. Modeling Session with Art Model Tom Temin to Make Drawing for ShrineOriginal Sketch
