Actor David Carradine, a member of one of America's legendary acting families, became a pop-culture icon in the early '70s as the star of the hit TV series Kung Fu. Three decades later, he's still a busy actor, but his artistic self-expression doesn't stop there: he's also a talented musician, painter and sculptor. Like Kane, his character in Kung Fu, in many ways his life still embodies the mysticism of the East. Regarding his passion for sculpting, he explains: "You want to examine the fabric of the universe, to understand it better. And you do it with your hands." In his foundry, Carradine demonstrates the art of lost wax casting, a technique by which he is creating a bust of his ex-wife. - First the artist models the original form in clay and lets it dry completely.
- Plaster is poured over the clay to create a mold (figure A) in two halves. The plaster is allowed to harden.
- The mold is put back together and wax is poured in (figure B).
- The cast is then rolled around so the wax coats the entire inner surface.
- This process is repeated in order to build up layers of wax -- if the artist attempted to cast the figure all at once, it wouldn't get all the details.
- The mold is removed, leaving a wax replica of the figure.
- The artist must carefully resculpt in the wax figure any details that were lost in the casting process (figure C). Carradine says that sculpting in wax is much more difficult than sculpting in clay. The tools must be kept hot -- but if they're too hot, they can melt the wax too much.
RESOURCES :
Sculpting in Clay
Model: 0764301136
Author: Dale Power
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