Mastering The Art Of Cutting And Re-Joining Sculpture Castings

Finished stone resin casting with Bronze Metal Coating

The original clay sculpture model with the complex positioning of the fingers had to involve the careful severing of each finger which then had to be individually molded, cast, and reattached.

Here is the original clay sculpture model with fingers in place prior to severing them.

Custom Silicone Rubber Mold Making On A Machined Prototype Model

Here is the initial stages of a fiberglass/silicone rubber mold being laid out. This will be a removable flexible mold due to a couple complex areas.

The silicone rubber thickness is being established and controlled for a precision placement of the mold so that every time it is extracted it will fit back with minimal setup.

Here are two of the finished silicone rubber molds that are in the curing process. Once the bottom half of the molds were fitted, the molds were ready for production.

Mold Making For A Gargoyle Creature

I had received several requests for a gargoyle creature for the garden so I sculpted this figure out of sculpting wax, painted it to see what I had, and as shown above, began the process of creating a two part silicone mold and a fabricated fiberglass mother mold (not shown) for support. Here you can see that I have cleanly established the seam line by using Kleen Klay and wooden blocks for support.

In the photo above, I have applied the initial detail coat of silicone and made certain that all areas have been covered including a predetermined area surrounding the sculpture so that you will have a lip of rubber that aids in the proper alignment of the two halves. Two additional thicker coats of rubber will be applied to give you a strong enough mold for many castings.

Here you have the cured rubber mold lying in the fiberglass mother mold flipped over with the back part of the sculpture now facing up, ready to repeat the above process. When this has been completed holes will be drilled through the fiberglass and rubber lip and joined, now ready for casting.

The Mysterious Supplies Of Sculpting

When viewing sculpture, what most people are seeing are the final forms after the modeling clay has been sculpted. What several people have expressed their surprise over the most was the clay itself. It was as if there was just as big of a mystery surrounding the clay as much as the sculpture itself. Surprisingly, many people are not aware that sculpting or modeling clay comes in large slabs normally averaging 7-10 pounds per slab. The clay that I use exclusively is a personal formula that I use for everything. The detail that it is capable of holding is astounding. When completely cool it will produce very sharp edges if you should need that degree of detailing. It is priced at $2.50-$3.50 per pound, depending on weight, and is available for order at snarlingcrow.com

But what seems to be an even bigger mystery are the supports that holds the weight and helps the sculptor flesh out any particular form ... the sculpture armatures. Building armatures can be an art all by itself. When I undertake the building of a complex armature, I take almost as much pride in the armature as I do in the final sculpture. However, for the more simpler forms, the armatures still play an important function if you are sculpting with a material that needs help in keeping it's form. That's why I make an extremely rugged portrait head armature pictured above that I make available to my customers at snarlingcrow.com as well.

Ornamental Hummingbird Houses

Beautifully designed hummingbird houses for home decor or garden placement.

These are wholesale items for those that would be interested in becoming sellers of a few of my selected sculptural creations. Please visit my Etsy Shop/SnarlingCrowStudios for more info about this item.

"Taste"

"Taste" by Will Cox

"Heartbeat"

The sculpture above entitled "Heartbeat" was sculpted by Will Cox of Greenville, SC. Unfortunately, Mr. Cox passed away just prior to the completion of the castings of his pieces. I am going to show some of them here over the next few days as a tribute to him and his sculptural vision. I enjoyed working on these pieces, Will. I am certain that your family and friends are enjoying them today and that they bring many fond memories back to them of you on a daily basis. Thanks for giving me the opportunity to work on them.

"No Fear Here!"

Wildlife Sculptures/Life Size Bronze Metal Coated Baby Ducks.
A pose representing nature's never ending vigilance

Hawk/Eagle/Falcon Mascot Head Sculpture

Talk about feeling like you are being watched!

"Liquid Kiss"

I love the innovation!

Raptor Sculpture

A stylized form with flowing lines. Flame polished clay model. To see the finished sculpture click photo.

©2009/Keith Simerson

Theo Jansen's Kinetic Sculpture ... Where Art And Science Meet

By Consent Or Conquest, We Will Have World Government

The only politically inspired sculpture that I have ever created. The reference is to the supposed certainty of James Paul Warburg's 1950 statement to the United States Senate on Foreign Relations.

©2009/Keith Simerson

Mother and Child

One of my customers, Alan Clement, from Raleigh, NC, who sculpts mostly portraits did this very smooth piece that we cast in plaster. It was one of my favorite pieces of his and I am not sure why. Maybe the stark whiteness of the plaster plays well with the design and creates a wedding of composition that draws me to it, no matter how often I look at it. To me, that is the true test of whether or not a sculpture is going to be right for any specific buyer.

©2009/Keith Simerson

The Brick Artist

Should you get the chance to look at the work of brickartist.com check it out. This guy uses only LEGO bricks to fashion his sculptures. Interesting to see what is possible when using only rectangular bricks.

A Tribute Casting

If you look closely, you will see the splits in the cast on this bronze metal coated casting which was taken from an original wooden chain saw carving. The carver had been tragically killed in an auto accident twenty some years prior and his wife was wanting to give copies as keepsakes to her children. Believe it or not, I utilized a thinned down, clear silicone caulk for the molding material and fiberglass for the mother mold. Not the easiest material to make molds with but after applying a little finesse and loads of patience it proved that incredible casts can be accomplished using everyday hardware materials.

©2009/Keith Simerson

Eco-Friendly Sculpture

I am constantly amazed at the various sculptural uses that people come up with for the most common everyday materials.

All of these pieces were fabricated with old tires ... a material that I have never had the opportunity or even the thought of working with before today.

And this horse figure is my absolute favorite. A great deal of movement and force in the figure.
Very interesting use of rubber.