Selkie mask

I poured another wax seal face last night. It's far more asymmetrical that I remember. I'll make a slump mould tomorrow.

Wax maquettes chillin' out in the fridge

It's warm in Canberra this week, top temps range between 35-38. My sculpting wax gets rather soft...
A quick spell in the fridge works rather well

Selkie's in the fridge

Forest light and the seal that almost wasn't

After my etching refresher at Megalo I went back to the Glassworks (a walk of 2 minutes) to continue polishing and shaping the Forest light with Eucalyptus oil. The scent elicited many positive comments and curiosity as I worked.

I got bored of smoothing towards the end of the day and started on an idea I have for the Depths & Shallows exhibition. It's one of those ideas that I'm not sure if it's going to be cheesy or knick-knacky until I try one. I was thinking of sculpting a selkie, the transformation shown with the female form as negative space inside the seal form. I struggled for an hour or so before my lump of wax started to look even vaguley like a seal and then it was time to go.

Polishing wax with Eucalyptus oil

forest light inside

Selkie in progress

Forest light project

I have this image in my head, that is where I'm trying to get to with this light.

from my sketch book, the one on the left

I haven't done this before, so I'm just going with it. There are elements that I have done before but not quite put together like this. The collage below shows progress over the last 3 days.

forest light stage 1 montage

key to the bloody chamber

Here's a work in progress...based on the tales of Bluebeard and Fitcher's bird.

WIP. wax and watercolour

Keys going in

13 keys and a few frames ready to mould up

Talia light wax before mould

Studio

thorns in wax

some times things workout the way you think they will, other times they don't.

Black magic

So, since I decided to use wax as a sculpting material I have been wanting to use black wax, but I also wanted to use a friendly product (well not paraffin or tallow). I now have a huge packet of soy wax and some bees wax. Initially I bought some condensed colour  in wax form but it turns out that soy wax is hard to dye very dark colours and the tablet form gave a lovely aubergine hue. From another company in Western Australia I ordered some liquid dye and I am glad to say that I have black wax, black enough for any magical incantations.

Musing on Wax

I use wax, modelling wax quite a lot in the casting process. Every now and then I think I should actually use it as a sculptural medium in its self. Today I went to Schaeffer Library (the non borrowing Arts library at Sydney uni) I even got to look at something from the rare book room (though why it is in there I don't know..Large and expensive books room maybe) which was a large book on Kiki Smith. She uses wax in her sculptures and it is... so visceral.
So today I have been thinking about casting twigs and branches in black coloured wax, maybe beeswax for that beautiful scent or a subtly perfumed soywax....

Kiki Smith in Studio c. 1993

Mould mash ups with Matt Perez - Day 3

Last night we were told to make a small wax object to cast, no bigger than one's clenched fist. As I was doing some other work on the computer, it was 11pm before I thought WAX! Yikes!
Here is a pic of my wax bird before it gets covered in plaster silica.

The whole class invested their objects, my invested bird looks rather cat like.

Invested bird

After the moulds were steamed, cleaned and filled with furnace glass frit, lunch was eaten before the coloured bullseye glass sheets were brought out. I think everyone else was pleased to see colour...in glass I find it overwhelming...unless I have an idea to go with it. Here are some of the designs put in the kiln by the class.

Leaves and trees (more of)

Shaping up a new clay mould, trying out forms that are raised and incised.

Huginn

He can't stand up on his own - the wax is too soft. Hopefully in glass with the three points to rest on (feet and tail) the skewers won't be necessary...now for Muninn.

Huginn so far

Huginn in process

All the nodules on

So almost finished the wax model for the light, I think Dougie managed to capture the determined gleam in my eyes..even if it is some sort of wired 'red eye'.

Larria light

So the 2 halves are joined and now i'm playing around with how many 'nodules' to put on. each one will have to be sprued and the ones towards the bottom will have gravity issues, so there is a limit to how many to go on. I have been pulling bits on and off trying to get the right pattern.

Pouring the wax shell : casting into light