Tuesday, 13 October 2015

Making My Mould - Technical Folder

In our third practical session with Sue and Kat, we began to make our moulds. This was very daunting as they stressed the fact that there should be no cross contamination at all, as well as the fact that we had to make the measurements of both Silicone A and B the same. 

Health and Safety
-Any aerosol sprays need to be sprayed out the window.
-Hair tied up.
-No jewellery.
-New change of gloves after handling products.
-Old clothes.
-Lids on tightly.
-New spatula for each product.
-Wipe down each pot after using it to reduce cross contamination. 
-Wear Breathing mask when using the products.
-NEVER pour silicone down the sink.

Products
-Clay Sculpture
-Cups
-Silicone A
-Silicone B
-Deadener
-Spatulas
-Scales
-Fixing Spray
-Petrolease
-Glue Gun
-Scissors
-Baldease
-Isopropyl Alcohol
-Colour Pigment
-Tuppawear 
-Tissue
-Babywipes


Method
1. Begin with making sure work surface is covered with cling film, you are wearing gloves and you have spare tissue/babywipes at the ready.
2. Wearing your mask, spray the clay sculpture with Fixing Spray all over, about 20cm away. 
3.Once the Fixing Spray is dry, spray Petrolease over the sculpture.
4. Cut the bottom off a cup, then glue with a glue cup around the sculpture. Make sure there are no gaps for the silicone to seep through.
5. Take a separate cup, new gloves and wear your breathing mask. Label 2 wooden spatulas A and 2 B.
6. Using the scales, measure out 30g of Silicone A, using the spatula labelled A to measure out. It is more precise with a spatula than to pour. 
7. Once you have the correct measurement, screw the lid on tightly, wipe down the sides of the pot with baby wipes and change to new gloves. 
8. Measure out 30g of Silicone B using spatula B. Wipe down sides and screw lid tightly.
9. Now mix the two substances together, gently to lower the amount of air bubbles. You can use either spatula now they are being mixed. To get rid of air bubbles, tap cup on the side.
10. Pour the mixture over the clay sculpture, pouring back and forth covering the work. Throw empty cup away.
11. Wait at least an hour until the silicone has set.
12. Take the mould out of the cup, and wipe down with isopropyl alcohol.
13. Once again, spray petrolease all over the mould.
14. Make a mixture of Baldease and Isopropyl Alcohol together.
15. With a brush, brush the mixture over the mould, and let dry. (To quicken this up you can use a hairdryer).
16. Apply another layer of mixture over the mould, making sure all the intricate bumps are covered, and let dry.
17. Mix 8g of Silicone A, 8g of silicone B and 12g of Deadener into a cup. To work out the measurement of deadener, it will be 60% of the two A+B numbers added together. Change gloves between. The Deadener gives the fleshy feel to the mould. 
18. In the mixture, mix in the liquid pigment. This is really strong, so a couple of drops is enough. Make up the desired colour to match the model's skin.
19. Pour this mixture into the mould.
20. Scrape over the mould with the straight metal ruler-like tool, to even out the bottom of the mould. 
21. Use a baby bud an Naphtha to remove the excess silicone around the mould. 
22. Leave to dry.


I really enjoyed this process, as it was the first time I had done it, but it was nevertheless a stressful experience. I managed to complete the process without messing up my measurements, which I found to be the most difficult in getting them both equal. I think my mould went well, although I was worried about the fact that you can see the mould behind the piece in the image above, as if it is not thick enough, but Sue said that it will be fine and that I can make this look sore and if I wanted to, fill it with blood. I am excited for the next part of taking the piece out of the mould and applying it, but for now need to develop my character.

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