It's the casting freak show!!

I love casting; the possiblities seem endless and it makes a very satisfying mess (not sure the o/h is overly happy about that but ho hum, never mind). The most wonderful thing about casting is that just when you think you've covered everything there is to know, some exciting information or a new material finds it's way to you and gives you something new to try! . Some of these methods work, some don't. Some turn into complete disasters or totally gross me out, but some work wondefully and inspire me to keep on trying all these new things. . So, recently I found out that for (cold) casting bronze models, which I thought I was actually pretty good with, you are actually supposed to "cook" the bronze before you cast with it. Bronze is a lovely colour and when polished it shines very nicely, but by cooking it, the bronze darkens and gives a beautiful array of hues and shades, adding depth and... reassurance to the model. I can't think of a more appropriate word, but to look at a model cast with this heated/cooled bronze is somehow reassuring, perhaps because of the aged look it gives, I don't know, but I do know I'll be doing a fair bit more cooking from now on, hehe! .

Bronze being heated; pictured as it began to change colour

It's not just the traditional kind of casting that I've been up to either - I recently found an intriguing substance that enables you to "grow" your models! Up until now the only way I knew of to change the size of a sculpture was to take it to a professional company with hi-tech equipment - they would scan the model using a laser, edit the model using 3D CAD (Computer Aided Design) software and then "print" a copy in the desired scale by printing layer upon layer of a special plastic type ink to build up a new full 3D model (they cen even mirror a sculpture aka Karen Gerhardt's china "Halfling" Boreas!). Incredible, but expensive! . This new "resin" I've found got me very excited as the above route isn't one I can afford to pursue, but this is much more within reason. Inevitably, it is a nightmare to work with; it gels* in about 30 seconds making air-bubbles a certainty; it grows at an incosistent rate so is liable to split; takes over 2 weeks to get to full size and once cured it is very fragile, the top horse lost it's ear as I demolded it even though I was very careful. The first attempt, whilst not a 100% success, has me optimistic though, I only made this model out of curiosity and it has since been destroyed (this stuff doesn't last very long either, it's not a permanent medium), but it was fun to see my Fly Fishing model at twice it's original size!

Seriously though, I do have a specific use in mind for this stuff and will be experimenting with it as soon as I can, probably once I have the vacuum equipment to help with the tricky fast curing issues. If I can pull off the project I'm hoping to, it'll be worth all the hassle!!

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Now, talking of GROWING models, howsabout SHRINKING models!?! Yes, that's possible too - and here's the project I've been playing with this stuff on:

The black model is an original sized Frodo cast (in Slate), and the brown one is a "Shrinky" version - again, this material is a nightmare to use, gelling* in about 10 seconds, but thankfully, as the model shrinks (a month so far and still shrinking!) the pinhole bubbles in it also shrink, so it has a much better potential for success. I'd love to use this method to get a shrinky Frodo to produce as a fridge magnet, but as the rights to cast Frodo in u/p resin are no longer mine, that may not be possible. . *Gel/Gelling - this is what happens when a material reaches it's "pot life"; the time it takes from mixing the two parts togetter, for the chemical reaction to take place and the material to turn from a liquid state to a jellified state. Once this point has been reached it's too late to pour it and any left in the pot is unusable waste so you need to have poured it into the mold and removed any air bubbles before this time. I once had a model gel whilst I was still removing airbubbles with a fine paintbrush (I get through hundreds of paintbrushes!), the paintbrush end was entombed and whilst the model was then rendered useless it made for an interesting piece of art in itself!

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There's something a bit wrong with this picture....Yep, it's back to front and inside out - this is a photo taken of the reverse side of a Crystal Clear copy of Fly Fishing. I love casting in clear resin, but until I have the vacuum equipment I need I won't be able to get bubble-free copies in it. Once I do, oh I'll be having a LOT of fun with this resin but I couldn't help myself trying out just one copy to start with. I've now started using Smooth-On's clear resin, which is a superior resin to that I've used previously. I can't wait to get experimenting with this stuff, but I must wait until I'm properly equipped. So, as well as the more usual unpainted resin, there are so many different possibilities for finishing a model, each giving the sculpture a new unique style. I'm looking forward to continuing my research into this subject, and hope you'll join me on my little voyage of discovery!