This was the first life size bust, that i have created. It was a Project in Summer 2007 sponsored by the Styrian state Government. My completion time frame was only one month, so i couldn't afford any mistake. I wasn't worried about the sculpting, creating a mold of this size was quite challenging . Also i decided to use cold cast bronze - it is much faster to complete a cast. I saw results with cold cast bronze, and it had a real metal look. Since i never used this material before, it was a huge challenge for me to pull that Project off.
This is the reference Postcard photo of Rosl as it is sold worldwide.
Sculpting the bust, beginning stage
Final Clay sculpt front view
Final Clay sculpt - side view
This is the completed mold with a mother mold out of burlap, carbon fiber and plaster. The inner-mold is silicone rubber. For the result of a "real" metal, a couple layers of bronze powder mixed with brown or black dyed resin is brushed on to the mold. The mold is then put back together, wrapped and back filled with dyed resin.
The resin is fully cured after 1 hour and the result - a cold bronze cast. To finalize it and get the metal look, the surface needs to be buffed with steel wool. After that the cast can be treated same as real bronze, like patinas. For this cast i used antique bronze.
I brought the bust in my luggage to austria, where i assembled the mounting. It was then mounted on a sandstone pillar with her name engraved on a marvel plate. The unveiling took place at the bottom of the local mountain "Hochschwab" This event was also sponsored from the village St. Ilgen - and the local museum http://www.hochschwabmuseum.at/
Hi Klaus,
ReplyDeleteThis is so damn beautiful I had to write about it.
Well done !