Mould Making and Studio Life

The fall is usually the busiest part of my year. It's rarely steady with noticeable swings in activity. This has been my experience over many years. It can be at times a challenge to organize the studio schedule in order to meet the various deadlines. The concept of working on one project at a time is largely a fantasy.  It would be nice but that's not how things work.
In the meantime, I wanted to show some of the other projects that are being worked on in the studio at this time.

Image copyright  Art  Di Lella

Image copyright  Art  Di Lella

 What you're seeing in the above photo is silicone rubber being applied to the sculpture. Usually five to six applications are made in order to have sufficient thickness.  Although these are only detail shots, this sculpture is almost 3 metres tall or around 9 feet. Because of its large size,the mould will be made in sections to accommodate the casting in wax. The sculptor is Al. Green.

Image copyright  Art  Di Lella

I'm still working on the shoulders of YW and making some progress. I should be done sometime next week.

Image copyright  Art  Di Lella

This is a detail  of a large silicone mould I made in 2009.  I've  been commissioned to do a wax replica from that mould for the purpose of bronze casting. The artist is Abraham Anghik Rueben.

Image copyright  Art  Di Lella

Remember #5 , I 'm still working on him as well. This model requires a reworking in spots but I feel confident this piece is coming to a conclusion soon as well.
My working day often is spread around different tasks which are done according to priority and how much can be done in a single day.  For the most part things go pretty smoothly . I just wanted to show a glimpse of some of the different projects that are being worked on simultaneously in my studio.
Next week I'm hoping to have updates on BB,YW and revealing what all that concrete was about.
Talk to all next week, have a great weekend.

Hair Punching Hyper Realistic Sculpture #3 Part 4

Image copyright  Art  Di Lella

Over the past two weeks,I've been trying to figure out what direction to go regarding the hair and beard treatment on BB. I've now decided to go with a short cropped beard for the moment but I'm still uncertain about a hair style for this sculpture.. The present image of  BB reminded  me of a few people I once knew at the Ontario College of Art back in the 1970's. I digress.
So,on Saturday, I went to a local supplier to purchase more hair,specifically for a beard on BB. Beard hair tends to be on most men, coarser with varying degrees of curl.  I brought with me some head hair to my supplier so it could be matched up with the beard.  But I wasn't too concerned if the colouring didn't quite match perfectly because beard hair often is a little different in coloration from head hair. If the colour of the beard during the punching process is starting to diverge a little too much from the  head hair then some head hair is then punched in various spots in the beard area to help balance the colour.

Image copyright  Art  Di Lella

Image copy right  Art  Di Lella

Image copyright  Art  Di Lella

As you can see in the above images,I've finished punching in the beard and making the line of the beard itself not too even,so it would look more natural. Once,I figure out the hair style for this piece then I'll start punching in more head hair randomly so as to make the hairline more natural. It's a back and forth process with constant revisions.
Later this week,I'm hoping to have some news on #2 YW and some other projects as well.
Have a great week.

Hyper Realistic Reconstructed Sculpture #2 Part 4

I've been madly working on YW the past two days plus finishing off some silicone moulds for a local Toronto sculptor and making some Christmas ornaments for Barbara's Etsy shop which will be available soon.

Image copyright  Art  Di Lella

I've completed the head, for the moment and these are the latest pictures.

Image copyright  Art  Di Lella

I like her soft, somewhat melancholy expression.

Image copyright  Art  Di Lella

Image copyright  Art  Di Lella

Image copyright  Art  Di Lella

The last picture shows a bit of the shoulders which needs further refinement but it's close to completion..
Even though I've stated the near completion of this clay model, the sculpture will be set aside for some time and then reexamined to confirm it's finished or it needs additional tweaking. Then after all the fussing is completed, I'll start on the mouldmaking and start the whole casting process again.
Next week, I'm hoping to have some updates on BB.
I hope all have an excellent weekend. Cheers.

Hyper Realistic Reconstructed Sculpture #2 Part 3

I'm sure the regular viewers of this blog have noticed that the posts often follow a linear progression.  I will show pictures that illustrate the process of making a sculpture in a sequential order.
But sometimes I will stop working on a piece and then either start a new sculpture or return to a piece that I was working on earlier in the year. This post is about returning to an earlier sculpture #2 the Young Woman.
This bust, like three others in this series was sculpted in 2010. But in early 2011, I decided to make some changes to this bust and then once more stopped working on it. This past weekend I returned to working on this piece.

Image copyright  Art  Di Lella

Image copyright  Art  Di Lella

Image copyright  Art  Di Lella

Image copyright  Art  Di Lella

Image copyright  Art  Di Lella

 Sometimes when I'm working I find that these interruptions in the process are beneficial because it will give me the needed time away from a piece that perhaps is struggling and I don't  have an immediate answer. By using this strategy it also prevents me from forcing the issue and overworking the sculpture to a point of abandonment.
Now, I feel closer to a resolution and feel confident this bust will be finished soon.
In the meantime, I'm still working out how to finish BB and of course trying to complete the various moulding and casting projects that are going on in the studio.
I'll be back later this week. Cheers.

Expressions and Impressions In Bronze

Image copyright  Art  Di Lella

This the fifth installment of my Bronze series. This sculpture was originally inspired by a young woman who I saw in Florence,Italy in 1996.  I didn't attempt modelling her until early 2003. When I started working up the clay, I made the mistake of trying to copy her from memory and of course this led to absolute frustration. It just didn't work.
I needed to let go of this literal translation and try to work a little more intuitively. So, I removed the hair and left her bald, then played with different facial expressions to give additional drama to the face. I finally chose the sad face because it seemed to suit her better and I do remember the original person looking rather pensive perhaps even melancholy at the time.

Image copyright  Art  Di Lella

Image copyright  Art  Di Lella

Image copyright  Art  Di Lella

You may have noticed at the back and bottom of this sculpture some rods and tubes that are attached.  Those are the original feeds and venting artifacts of the bronze casting process. They are usually removed but I kept them as part of the sculpture because I wanted the object to  illustrate the relationship between modeling and casting and it's mutual dependency. I really wanted in this piece to marry the organic with the industrial which was a new approach for me at the time.
The casting was completed in 2004 and then it was later exhibited at the Toronto Outdoor Art Exhibition in 2007.
Next week, I hope to have some new updates on BB and other stuff.
Have a great weekend, cheers!

Old Wax Models Ecorche Revisited

Image copyright  Art  Di Lella

This past weekend, I was planning a post on my bronze sculpture series but when I was going through a box of old wax models, I came across the original wax Ecorche figures.

Image copyright  Art  Di Lella

Image copyright  Art  Di Lella

Image copyright  Art Di Lella

Even though they were damaged during the moulding process, I still find them a pleasure to look at after all these years. Wax is one of my favorite materials. I love it's fluid quality and it's versatility. It can be used either as an intermediate model or as a finished sculpture. It's easy to work and it requires less complication in armature building than clay. It's worked up with hands, steel tools and heat. I find it a very relaxing activity to sit in a comfortable chair and play with some wax. I have in the past made many small wax models to work out ideas for different sculpture projects. Some have survived such as the Ecorche figures and others are simply melted down to be used for new ideas.
Meanwhile,back in the studio I'm working on a number of moulds this week so I won't have much to report on BB, but there is a chance. We'll see.
Talk to you all later this week. Take care.

Hyper Realistic Reconstructed Sculpture in Review

As I mentioned in the previous posting, I thought it would be a good time to have a review of BB.
Here we go.

This is early on in the process whereby the muscles are being applied to the skull.

The complete clay model, by the way went through several revisions before it got to this stage.

The beginnings of a very blue mould

The completed but unpainted silicone cast.

The first stage of the painting process.

This is the last stage of painting with a few touch ups to done later.

All the above images are copyright  Art  Di Lella

Finally, the first few stages of hair punching. It's been quite a journey so far with a few steps to go. I wanted to give some idea as to how the process works. But, I don't want to give the idea that this is strictly a form of linear art making. There is a lot of back and forth, constant reassessment of the sculpture itself. Does this piece work with others in this series or should it be on it's own or both? I try to not think too much as this can paralyze the entire project. It's always best to move forward and not let the critical voice get too loud.
Meanwhile, the studio as I mentioned at the top of this post, is very busy and I'm hoping to publish photos of these new sculptures as well and perhaps return to my bronze series.
We'll see. Talk to you all next week, cheers.