Tuesday, June 24, 2008

A Good Trade - A New Wife - Face Time



I block in, using lines, the divisions of the Mountain Man's face. Then I start to sculpt the skull features. Finally I start to slap in the muscle shapes and mouth area.


I start to form the large floppy beaver hat. The type that would have been worn during the fur trading period. I form the brim by running a blob of wax through my Pasta Machine. This flattens it out. I then determine the diameter of the brim and use a compass to scribe a circle on the flat piece of wax. I then cut that circle out.
I next determine the line on the head that the hat will fit down on, and then I heat up a knife and cut the top of the head. I set the top of the head aside and place the round flat piece that forms the brim on the cut area. Once positioned, I then put the top of the head back onto the top of the brim. Line it up with the head below. This helps to block in the size and shape of the crown of the hat. Then I start to experiment with the shape of the brim. I may still take this hat off and put a fur cap on instead. I'm fluid with the design.


Now I melt wax, and using rags, I dip them into the melted wax, and then carefully place it over the shoulders of the mountain man and then put a blanket on the Indian woman. I do this to not only to save tons of expensive wax, but also to speed up the process of creation. Here are photo's of the robes on both figures.


Once the Wax in the cloth sets up, I can start to add soft wax to it. I don't just leave the cloth the way it is. I start to add folds and take away folds. This is so I can shape the blanket to match a design in my head.


Well that's for today. Tomorrow I won't be adding to the blog because I'm going to spend the day at the funeral of my friend and neighbor, Jack McGowan.
I'll be back on Thursday, and then will be off till next Tuesday evening or Wednesday morning. I'll be continuing my blog while I'm doing my appearances at the galleries this summer. I'll be at the James Harold Gallery next week. (My schedule is on the top of the right column)