Framework.

I'm making a frame out of 12 mm beech plywood. It will make the mold sturdier and it won't flex when we start to pack the concrete.

Fixing the frame to the cured fiberglass mold using epoxy mixed with filler, then reinforcing on both sides with strips of fiberglass and epoxi resin.

Preparing the mold.

 After the mold had cured i used a jigsaw to saw of the excess fiberglass and resin.

 Feels like this actually might work.

 After some bending and prying i managed o lift the plug from the mold. The release agent worked well. Last time I made a mold like this that did not go so well.

This is the almost finished mould. To do now is some sanding and building a frame attached to the mold. The frame will make the mold more rigid which is necessary when working with concrete. The finished stars will be heavy, about, 75 kg and it will probably take some force to get the finished casts out of the mold so it must be strong.

Laminating.

 My friend Lars Gustavsson, designer and craftsman is helping me on this project. We started preparing for laminating taking measures for cutting out the fiberglass.

 The first layer is a 163g/m2 a material that follows the shape of the star very good.

We laminated a total of three layers. The second layer was 390 g/m2 and the third and last was a rowing, 580 g/m2. Now the mould will cure for seven days.

Preparing for laminating.

After a lot of sanding i covered the whole star with epoxy resin. Two coats. After curing sanding with coarse to finer grit ending at 400 wetsanding paper. I expect to get a silk smooth matte surface.

When I was satisfied with the surface I applied a film building release agent, Marbocote 227. Then I brushed on two coats of white gelcoat.

Filler and sanding.

Sanding the filler to smooth out the surface. It's a tricky job that requires a light touch because the foam material is so soft.

After sanding I covered the whole star with shellac to provide a harder surface for further filler and sanding. The process of filling and sanding takes time but I'm still waiting for the material for the mould so I'm not really in a hurry right now.

Adding material.

Finished sanding. I added one more sheet of foam at the bottom of the star using ordinary PVA wood glue. You might notice the proportions on the actual sculpture are now not consistent with those on the model. The reason for this is that the sculpture will be lowered about 70-100 mm into the ground. Resting on a layer of gravel and surrounded by soil covered with grass.

After sanding I added a layer of filler. It will probably take a couple of days for it to dry. After sanding I will add more filler until I get a smooth surface.

Knifework.

Using foam insulation, the same material I used for the Stars project, I have started to shape the star with a saw and our kitchen knife. The yellow parts is construction foam, polyurethane, I added where I removed too much material. Next step is sanding and filling gaps with wall putty. After sanding with fine grit the star will receive a couple of layers of acrylic paint to get a smooth surface before laminating the mould with fiber glass and epoxi resin.

New commission.

Last week I got a new commission, a sculpture group for a daycare center Myresjö daycare center in Vetlanda. I think it´s great to work on another project for kids. 

The sculpture will consist of four parts. Three stars cast in concrete coloured with three different pigments. On top of one of the stars I will place a little figure made of metal, painted silver. Inspiration comes once again from Japanese origami Lucky Stars and for the figure japanese pepekura figures.

The model shown is scaled 1:10. Each star will be about 90 cm in diameter and approximately 30 cm in height. Total hight of the black star and figure will be about 85 cm.

Working title is Stjärnungen, Star Kid in english.

Just drawing.

It's been a while since I did some drawing so this is practice. Scene from dogs with some additions. By the way, the guy standing in the doorway is Jörgen P Platzer, who's painting and Trojan Horse sculptures I posted a few weeks ago.

Hardware update.

Spending my days in the studio working on the new layout and practicing inking. Realized i needed a drawing board so I fabricated one using my Wacom Cintiq 24HD and a scrap piece of cardboard. Works very well. Nice to put the Wacom to good use.

Project for daycare center in Myresjö and Korsberga.

I have just spent a couple of weeks on a project for Vetlanda municipality. Two sculptures for two daycare centers. I continued to work on my star theme. This time in smaller scale combined with small sculptures/figures made out of sheet metal. Inspiration from Japanese origami and Pepakura. After intense work the nights before deadline I got these two models ready. The scale is 1:10.