MY HEAD ON A PIKE

This semester in my Sculpture: Modeling to Casting class, we made busts of ourselves them made a mold out of it. I specifically took this course just for this project. I wanted to really learn this entire process because it opens the door to making crazy ass mask molds for my own sick artistic needs. I should have documented the process a little bit better but here's generally what I did or can remember.

 Step 1: Make A Clay Bust (mine is a self portrait)

This part really doesn't need much explaining. Make something out of clay and keep it moist by covering it with wet towels and a plastic bag. This isn't the greatest likeness of myself but it's not bad for my first attempt at a self portrait in clay. One issue was that I had too deep of recesses cut for the eye lids. I'll explain more on why that's an issue later in the process.

Step 2: Cover Damp Clay With Silicone Mixture

Make a mixture of the following:

• 2 tubes of pure silicone
• 4 ounces of naphtha
• 20 drops of glycerin
• dime sized squirt of acrylic paint

The point of covering your bust with silicone is so that you have a flexible mold that you can reuse over and over which will easily stretch off of your final product. Smear that mixture with a brush all over your head. It will take 30 minutes to an hour to dry enough to add more layers. You want add as many layers so as to lose all features. It should look like one big smooth blob of silicone. For mine, it took about 7 or 8 layers. The different colors of paint help to let you know how thick the silicone mold is. Kind of looks like that skinless dude from Hellrasier!

Step 3: Cover Silicone Layer With Plaster

Plaster is the next step. It adds support to your silicone mold because it's too flexible on it's own. You have to put thin metal shims down the middle of the your clay bust. Go along the sides as there will be a line in your clay that you don't want running down your face. With the shim barrier in place, slap on a layer of plaster on one half of your piece. Once dry, carefully pull out the shims and grab an exact-o knife, box cutter or something else mad sharp. Cut smoothly all the way through to the clay along the edge of the plaster line. Next, take some vaseline and smear the edge of the plaster very lightly. Then gunk the other half with plaster. The vaseline will keep the two halves of plaster from sticking to each other. Once that half is dry, you tap thin wood shivs into the crack to pry apart the plaster.

Step 4: Fill The Void

Remove all the clay. You don't have to be gentle as you won't need the clay again. Make sure your silicone is really clean and dried. You should then lube the entire inside... uh huh huh huh. I sprayed a thin layer of aerosol dry lubricant inside of the silicone mold. This is so your filling won't stick so badly to the inside of your mold. Put your two halves together, silicone inside of the plaster, and put a strap around the whole thing so it won't split apart or leak. I used one of my belts and the foam slightly pushed the mold apart so I suggest using a ratchet strap.

Once your mold is prepped and set upright, fill it with whatever you want! Concrete, plaster, tofu... whatever grabs you. I chose expanding foam gap filler because it's cheap, lightweight and easy to apply. If you decide to use this super expanding foam you have two options. First is to cover the end of your mold with something so the foam won't escape and forces itself into every crevice which makes a smoother surface. The second, which I went with, is to leave the hole you pour it into open. This is messy and will ooze out of the bottom. It will get into the crevices pretty well but it doesn't have the pressure built up inside. Thus there will be small air pockets and interesting surface textures. I was going for a macabre look so that's exactly what I wanted. Unfortunately, I didn't take any pictures of this step. I wish I would have as it was really neat looking oozing all over.

Step 5: Finishing Touches

After 24 hours, pop off the strap that binds your mold together, remove the plaster shell and delicately peel off the silicone. This is where you will see if you made too deep of crevices like I did with my eyelids. When I pulled out the foam head some of the silicone ripped off in the highly detailed or deep areas. This could have been avoided if I would have used the lubricant on my first attempt, but oh well.

Now you have a foam head! You can repeat steps 4 and 5 as often as you want now that you have a reusable mold. Lastly comes the decorating. Foam is easy to cut, sculpt, melt, burn, stab and paint into whatever you want. I used Sharpies for most of the color detail work as they're the greatest pens on Earth. I did the final bloody neck touches with craft paint.

I'm pretty pleased with the final product. I wanted a creepy head and that's just what I got. I ended up making three versions and the below was my favorite. Now my skewered heads are an official Halloween installment at my house. Feel free to drive by (1316 N. St. Paul, Wichita KS) and see my lovely display of death! Vlad the Impaler would be proud.