Share a Past Project
This is yet another project I started and didn't finish.
But I'll call it a work in progress.
It's a bronze mermaid.
(click on image to enlarge it)
I made this in a sculpture class at a community college in 2002.
We took the entire semester, sculpting wax.
At the end of the 16 weeks, we encased these in plaster, then cast them in molten metal.
Not all of the wax successfully cast.
Part of the fin, the waves on the right side, and some of the hair disintegrated.
But that's okay--it looks torn, worn, and more natural.
A lot of work needs to be done to finish this--grinding and sanding metal to give it shine, to buff out the pits, to remove debris from crevices...it is tedious work.
My heart just hasn't been in it.
I was happy with this when I first made it--my first attempt at a human figure.
But my mistakes are amateur and expected, and they bore me now (for example, the figure is too Barbie doll--the boobs are too big).
But perhaps, regardless, I should go the next step and complete it.
That, in part, is why I'm posting it now--to entice me to get motivated to bring out the dremel.
Originally I planned to make this into a frame or a mirror, but my teacher suggested the piece of agate behind it (that currently needs to be cleaned--it's smeared with wax), with perhaps a light shining through the stone.
The class was helping to create art around a children's center at the school, and students were laying agates into the concrete to add interest to the sidewalks there.
My teacher let me keep this interesting sliced piece that looks like ocean swirls.
Working with wax is similar to clay--you can mold it with heat, melt it with a soldering iron, etc.
There are different thicknesses of wax for different purposes.
I used thin jewelry wax, for example, to create her scales.
I used a drinking straw to punch out circles of wax, which I then overlapped.
I really enjoy creating sculpture. I enjoy working in three dimensions.
But I'll call it a work in progress.
It's a bronze mermaid.
(click on image to enlarge it)
I made this in a sculpture class at a community college in 2002.
We took the entire semester, sculpting wax.
At the end of the 16 weeks, we encased these in plaster, then cast them in molten metal.
Not all of the wax successfully cast.
Part of the fin, the waves on the right side, and some of the hair disintegrated.
But that's okay--it looks torn, worn, and more natural.
A lot of work needs to be done to finish this--grinding and sanding metal to give it shine, to buff out the pits, to remove debris from crevices...it is tedious work.
My heart just hasn't been in it.
I was happy with this when I first made it--my first attempt at a human figure.
But my mistakes are amateur and expected, and they bore me now (for example, the figure is too Barbie doll--the boobs are too big).
But perhaps, regardless, I should go the next step and complete it.
That, in part, is why I'm posting it now--to entice me to get motivated to bring out the dremel.
Originally I planned to make this into a frame or a mirror, but my teacher suggested the piece of agate behind it (that currently needs to be cleaned--it's smeared with wax), with perhaps a light shining through the stone.
The class was helping to create art around a children's center at the school, and students were laying agates into the concrete to add interest to the sidewalks there.
My teacher let me keep this interesting sliced piece that looks like ocean swirls.
Working with wax is similar to clay--you can mold it with heat, melt it with a soldering iron, etc.
There are different thicknesses of wax for different purposes.
I used thin jewelry wax, for example, to create her scales.
I used a drinking straw to punch out circles of wax, which I then overlapped.
I really enjoy creating sculpture. I enjoy working in three dimensions.
Labels: hand crafted by me, past project, wip
4 Comments:
I like her tail--the detailing on it is very organic--looks like the leaves of kelp that wash up on Dog Beach!
KEEP GOING!
I love her worn, less than perfect style...
...and Mermaids are hot these days!!
S-
Are you starting a Past Projects type of thing (don't know what it is called in blogland)? Since I only just started blogging this summer, I have things I could post from the months before that. This could be fun for us newbies.
Not sure of the dims, but it would make a nice bathroom mirror. She's fun!
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