Addition Nearly Complete and Molds for Meg

I've spent most of my time, during these last few weeks of record breaking temperatures,(in the air conditioning) making progress on the studio addition.

The last picture that I showed, was when they sprayed in the insulation. This is a picture shortly after that, as I had started hanging drywall.

This picture was taken today. The drywall is all hung, finished, and painted. The floor was laid and the trim put up. I'll definitely feel like celebrating when this project is finished. More than one friend has expressed an interest in spilling beer on my new floor.

This stain glass window has been in storage for 23 years, ever since I traded a fellow exhibitor for it at a St. James art fair. Finally, it has a home, in the bathroom of the new addition.

This week, we've been putting molds on 2 of Meg's sculptures that will be exhibited in a monument show at Kaviar Gallery (the opening is next Friday night). After brushing on 2 layers of Polygel 40, we make the part lines for the mold. Steve McMillen is cutting and taping plastic bubble shims that we buy from Sculpture Depot of Loveland, Colorado.

We use pins to hold the shims in place temporarily.

We mix Polyfill into a batch of Polygel 40 until it has the consistency of cake icing. We cut a corner of a plastic bag and squeeze a bead of the mix to hold the shims permanently in place. I smooth the bead out with a plastic knife.

While we're in the mood of mixing polyfill into Polygel 40, we knife the mix into major undercuts, like under the angel's left elbow. This will allow the mother mold to pull free, later on.

Then, we apply more coats of rubber until everything has about 6 coats.

The next day, we applied a plaster mother mold.

We haven't been going outdoors much, with heat indexes above 100 degrees. But, Meg snapped this shot of a barge that passed close, when we went out beside the Ohio River.

Another foray out, was a visit to Tom Tobin's cabin on Rough River Lake. This is the view from the cabin. He has this property up for sale, so contact him if this appeals to you.

...and closing this post with one of Meg's macro-explorations. These beautiful bubbles are ....in...boiling chicken fat. Leave it to Meg to find the Awesome in the Mundane. (all photos on this post copyright Meg White)