If you want to get a head get some resin

Week 10

Serendipity indeed.  Since I was using resin for my large bowl, and being mindful how it get into very small gaps and sets very firmly, I seized the opportunity to do something with these guys...

If you read my blog 'Six heads are better than one' you will know that I had made these god heads as a development for the finishing off of the large bowls ascending tips.  The problem I had was that the fine details in the silicone rubber moulds wouldn't have been kind to wax; required to make lost wax plaster moulds.  Resin on the other hand is string enough to be removed from the moulds and in themselves would be finished casts. Ideal.

 I used the same resin two part, 10% catalyst mix and slowly poured it into the moulds, allowing it time to find its way into the subtle fine voids without trapping any air pockets.  I then vibrated the moulds to release any trapped air. 

I left the resin to set for 36 hours, more than the recommended 24, however one or two of them still had some soft spots resulting in some distortion when they were divested from their moulds.  While not ideal it was still in keeping with the ravages of time and archaeology.

I've shown images of the lynx below and compared it to the condition of the clay model after it was released.  This is a good comparison to show the strength of the resin.

I then painted all of the heads to give them a cast metal appearance so that they resembled the concept of them being cast in lead.  I did this by painting them black, as per the lynx above, then silver, allowing each coat to dry between.  I then applied another layer of black however before it dried I loosely brush it with a soft clothes to lift and smudge the paint revealing variations of silver beneath.  It worked quite well.

I then trimmed the ends that were formed from plaited twine attached to the clay models.  I made sure they were the same length and angled is though part of the original bowl.  I then glued small metal rods to their top line which I then hot glued to the top edge of the bowls ascending tips and made sure the rods were rounded to follow the curvature of the bowl.  I hoped this gave it the appearance of having being reconstructed.