About Me

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Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Life and the creative process are about the journey, not the destination. I love working with colour and texture and can get totally 'lost' in the creative process. Variety keeps my creative juices flowing. We are currently traveling full time in a 40' motorhome and bouncing between visits with a son in Albuquerque NM and a son, daughter-in-law and granddaughter in Calgary AB. In between we are busy exploring this great continent on which we live. It's a challenge working from my mobile studio but I am using our travel time to learn new skills and refine existing ones.

Sunday, July 25, 2010

Baby Bump Sculpture

I've been told that the in-thing is to do a casting of the 'baby bump' and to decorate it as a piece of art.  My young'uns decided that the kit was too expensive so after a discussion with me they purchased the plaster embedded tape at the local M store and got out the jar of Vaseline and went to work.  Then they announced that it was over to me to decorate!
I spent all day yesterday shaping the edge with a Dremel and adding tape to build up and strengthen the edges so that it would hang flat on the wal and not collapse over time. Then left it to dry over night.
Here is my process:
The Original Casting and Proposed Shaping Lines

The Trimmed Cast
The creators and I had discussed final shaping and this is what we decided.  I might have trimmed closer to the belly but the rounded edges seem to work.  The trimming left raw edges so all had to be wrapped with tape and in some places had to be built up so that the finished piece would lie flat to the wall.  I used two rolls of tape for this process and in the resmoothing of the surface after the edges were finished.
Smoothing and Strengthening the Edges
The Surface Finish This Morning
Before applying a final finish I added a cross piece to the back so that we can attach a hanging mechanism.  I'll show this tomorrow.  I used Artplaster to provide a final surface and to remove all traces of tape texture that remained.  The casting needed time to dry so this is as far as I went yesterday.  I mixed a small amount in a bowl and had a bowl of water nearby.  I used my hand to spread a thin layer over the surface and the wet sponge/pad to smooth the surface.  It's not super smooth but good enough to work with.  When dry the casting seems quite strong.

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