Six heads are better than one!

Week 7

Having tested the casting of one of the animal god heads I am going to make 6 more but on a smaller scale.  The idea behind these is that I want them to ascend from my bowl as though the human soul's final departure and association with a god in the Great Hall in Valhalla.  I have chosen the gods Odin (horse), Frigg (horned owl), Thor (ram), Heimdall (dolphin), Freya (lynx) and Freyr (boar). 

Here are the some of them being made using clay and affixing them to some more plaited chord:

Because of the small and intricate shapes it wouldn't be viable to set these models in plaster moulds so instead I am using silicone rubber.  This solution takes much longer to set however it remains flexible which allow the models to be removed by cutting the mould open.  The other main benefit is the moulds are re-usable meaning many casts can be made from the same mould.

The silicone rubber is a two part mix, the rubber compound and a 10% catalyst additive.  The catalysts is coloured which helps to ensure the compounds are fully mixed.  I used yoghurt tubs for the mould forms and suspended the clay models inside.  The silicone rubber was poured in slowly and in one pour to avoid air bubbles and separation.

The sad looking image above is the clay lynx after it was removed from the silicone rubber. It was apparent that the tightness of the mould and the brittleness of the clay was very destructive.  This is an issue.

The method of casting would be the lost wax method: the moulds are filled with molten wax which is then removed once hardened.  The wax model is then set into a plaster mould.  When this is hardened the wax is heated by steam and melted out leaving a hollow form inside the plaster.  This mould would then be placed in a kiln and molten glass poured inside.  The problem?  The wax would not be able to be removed from the silicone rubber mould without breaking.

I'll have to sit this idea aside for the meantime.....