The heron's molds get a plaster mold (or mother mold) over the rubber mold to preserve the general shape of the sculpture and prevent distortion. A thin layer of plaster is added first...
Then a layer of hemp soaked in plaster is added to give strength to the mold.
Plaster is then applied to the molds until it is fairly thick- a couple of inches for the larger molds. - there are 4 in all, one for the heron, one for a leg section, two for the head feathers and one for the leaves.
After the molds cure for about 48 hours they are split open
Then an exacto knife is used to cut along the shims and open the rubber mold.
The interior of the heron's mold. Kind of looks like it's ghost.
The molds are wrapped for shipment to the foundry.
This is the "mystery sculpture" I've been working on. She is 3 times life -still needs a lot of work- and part of her will be made up of earthwork and plants.
"Flight" gets a patina...
On the return from the foundry - which is located in Indianapolis - I took a side trip to Brown County State Park. It was a hot day and the car didn't come with an air conditioner so I sought refuge from the heat here.
This is a montage of photos I took of the covered bridge at the park.
Just recently a park was commemorated in Paul Fields memory. It is located behind Craig Kaviars Gallery and has one of his marble sculptures of prominently displayed. Paul was responsible for starting a lot of sculptors in stone - Don, Matt Weir, Mike Ratterman, Larry Beisler, etc.
I wouldn't be carving except for his generosity in sharing his knowledge of working stone. I am deeply in his debt.
This portrait was done by Matt Weir. It was his first attempt at portraiture - he did an excellent job, really captured Paul's personality.
Don recently had a birthday and so we went over to see the Kentucky Stonehenge in Munfordville, KY. This is a small part of the stone assemblages on the property. It's really impressive what one man had done.
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