It's so refreshing to see what I call a real sculptor at work. I came to ask questions after watching some time lapse footage of some self proclaimed masters make some semi classical figures in drapes. So boring but each to their own . Anyway soon as I heard Beefheart it all fell into place. . Have left without having to ask you anything . Won't bother ripping down the cheesecloth net curtain ...newspaper . Brilliant. Thanks.
I am an artist and I am loving this! I have experimented on much smaller scales but would love to learn from you and watch how you create. It is so inspiring
Thanks John for sharing your work and technique over several RU-vid videos. My favorite moment in this video is at the end, when you check out the figure using a lamp. I'd love to see your creations lit by colored lights shining from different directions - I imagine an impressive sight without spoiling the starkness of plaster.
cantopia I started in clay and moved to oils, but sculpture is my natural inclination. No kiln, so have been looking into paper clay and found your video. I really dig what you did with syrofoam headdress or antlers or whatever...lol. I use up old doors too.
Me, a person who was trying to find sculpting videos for help for my own project, I stumbled upon your video. Your projects look very surreal, btw. And now I have a better idea on how I can make some sturdier body parts for my own project. ^u^
I have been wanting to make something with plaster and armature. I was going to make a creepy alien , then started a mermaid doll with wings. You gave me inspiration to try something cool. Thank you! Love the music
Hi, I like your style, but what do you do with all the sculptures in plaster? surely they aren't weather proof is it a certain type of plaster you use like Herculite etc? Thanks!
No, they are not weather proof but plaster is pretty weather-resistant. By which I mean a plaster figure of any real thickness at all, say 2" thick, will endure a lot of inclement weather and survive one way or another for a couple of years. But that is without any additive. Acryl-60 and/or Elmer's Waterproof glue will add to the life of the sculpture both indoors and out, but if outdoors a final coat of some kind of polyurethane (once the plaster has dried good and hard) will help. The problem there is that if the sculpture is hollow and the surface is water-tight then water can accumulate inside the sculpture and will slowly and steadily push its way through the plaster and shove the polyurethane off and then break up the plaster so you need to vent the interior area of the sculpture or fill it with something like foam or actually build your sculpture over a solid foam core. Cheers. J
Exterior varnish will make these things weatherproof. You just have to make sure there are no holes where moisture can get inside. Any interior moisture will cause it to rot from the inside out.
@@carkirsch77 No, I haven't used cement yet but am working with 3 specialists to find a lightweight moldable, waterproof, weatherproof and strong material.
Hi John! Love your videos !! so helpful. thank you for sharing. Working on my first large scale sculpture and want to use plaster - can you advise what brand/type you use exactly? plaster of paris? does it matter?
Love your work, how does the plaster not break? I tried using it the same way water+plaster stuck on similar base of a sculpture and it would just crack n w just a touch it would just fall off
Thank you so much for sharing. You need a big area to do this work. Are they finished?.they look very delicate, like fairy people.You see in your garden.
Hi John new to your channel I currently on a 3d sculpture painting course only the tutor advises you buy her ready made plaster for the work which is costing a fortune in postage costs from Russia to the UK. I do know a few other artists who have given away her secret which is a plaster named Clavel riviera decorative stone plaster with added fibres. This imitates the Mediterranean Old stone walls. Now having watched this I seen cellulose fibres are added to your plaster and a green stuff used for insulation. I've been experimenting with making my own texture paste which has to stand upto the tutors expectations for the lessons upto 5cms high some petals need to be oh these are flower sculptures and have found a decorative plaster in the UK called fox decorator a Polish company makes it and it has cellulose fibres inside. I do know this Clavel is fibreglass not cellulose. I'm wondering is that insulation stuff you use any good for adding too this decorative plaster do you think as at the min I'm just adding marble powder to thicken it up because it's already got the fibres added.
Hmmm... "How much for a sculpture?" I dunno. I've never been asked that before. I've never sold any of my artwork. I kinda make it cuz I want it. If I could just go buy it, life'd be a lot easier. Less fun tho. Thanks, John
I found myself intrigued, even scared of your images..this art drew me in to being uncomfortable, but i couldn’t look away! Fantastic imagination..i mean brilliant! I would diffidently own those 3 alien looking bodies all together down the hall on the wood ..id be scared all the time...but wow, art should move you, if it doesn’t its not for you, find something that does! Art is just beautiful
have watched probably all your video's, and though you are more advanced than I, We use similar techniques. But saw the Portland cement, and wondering if you mix with plaster at times? my sculpturs mostly are exterior, so curious if that is a possible solution. thanks
Hi. Yes I have mixed various cements with plaster, not directly but on top of each other. I did this because some cement -based mixes are a little more plastic and easy to manipulate when I want some greater control. None of it is even close to the malleability of clay although a lot of them are marketed as "clay-like" or stuff like that. Plaster alone will survive outside for a few years but not forever. If I where stuck making something out of plaster that had to be outside or otherwise take a beating I would mix it with Acryl-60, which is a polymer additive for cement but works fine with plaster. Elmer's Glue works too but makes the plaster gummy. I am also about to do some experiments with Minwax Wood Hardener, which is a liquid that I believe penetrates porous materials. It's expensive but not as expensive as watching your hard work dissolve in the rain. The Minwax liquid would be applied after the plaster has set and dried, otherwise you'd be trapping water in there. Whether or not it can be added directly to the wet plaster mix, I don't know, but I don't see why not. All I can say about cement is that it's real hard to work with. It tends to go off too slowly and it's far too heavy for my purposes. Perhaps you can find a method that suits your work. Keep in touch. Good luck. John PS Can I see your work somewhere?
Home Depot or Lowes or someplace like that. It's cheap. Be careful not to use to much or it will weaken your plaster; which is why I add Elmers' or Acryl-60. And be sure to mixe the insulation cellulous thoroughly so you don't get dry wek spots.
Well, these won't take too much of an eating but they are easy to repair. And no, I haven't used cement yet but I have experimented a little. Problem is that it doesn't model the same and is too heavy, probably. I am trying a material call Structolite which is plaster mixed with perlite. It is very light but comes out s grey/brown which I'm not sure I like. We shall see. Thanks.
Beautiful ! Beautiful! Beautiful! All your artwork is different and just gives a very appealing feeling! Watched all ur videos! Loved ur work! U have really inspired me to try this out! Btw is pop and plaster which u use r both different? How do you prepare the paste which u r using..can u please tell the proportions of mixing the glue n molding powder? U have used different molding powders in the video..
Thank you for you comments. I truly appreciate them. As for the addition of Elmers glue, I generally add that to plaster maybe a cup to a quart of water. I don'tnt worry about proportions too much. I just want some extra strength. If you add too much the mixture will,become gummy and hard to work with but it'll certainly be strong. The second material is Amaco Sculptamold. It comes already mixed with glue so you just have to mix it to the consistency you feel,like working with:either wet and sloppy or thick and more like paste. Third, I have added celluloid (household paper insulation) in varying amounts thinking it might add strength to the plaster but in this case I fear I used too,much and may have actually weakened the plaster. I think it would be important to pre-soak the cellulous and then mix it very thourighly with plaster but not use as much I I have here. The other reason I used cellulous was to ,try to,make the plaster lighter (weight) but I have since found a lightweight plaster called Structolite which is mixed with Perlite and is, I hear very very lightweight. I haven't used it yet but intend to this weekend and will post a video about it, its strength, ease of worksbility, and whatever else I discover. Thanks again. Hope this answered your questions as best as I can right now.
thanks for showing, it wouldreally help in the future if youd annotate the video with process and materials used cause i dont know if thats water or some adhesive
They are some sort of head dress I suppose. Goid question. But I avoid being real specific. Don't want to get in my own way. Btw you,might like ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-0GxB417iWVI.html
1/4 inch if I need a real strong armature but it's hard to work with so 1/8" in fine and sometimes I double it up. The strenght of the piece comes principally from the shell, the plaster and paper itself. Cheers.
Thank you. No, generaly the figures are not all that heavy. It depends on how much plaster each requires. Some are fairly light. The figures attached to backing boards get pretty heavy though because they don't generally come off the backing boards. Again, Thanks. John
I'd need to know a little more about how you're using the plaster but initially I can suggest adding elmers gle to the mix or some kind of fiber. Excelsior (used to stuff furntiure) is often added to plaster catings for strenght but I don't know how you'd build with it. It'd be a hell of a mess. I often use a coupld of layers of plaster bandages (less expensive in bulk from medical supply places than art supply sites) and that stuff will not crack. Then you layer additioanl plaster over than. Tell me more about your process and I'll see if I can think of anything. Thanks and have fun. John
No, the Elmarers is for dry-strength. But it can make the plaster gummy and you have to work faster, especially if you use too much Emlers which , how much is that? I don't know. I just add some into the water and hope. HAve fun. John
Well here's a link to me making my best guess: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-yUIA9ksQwHc.html Maybe that'll help. I'll be interested to know what you think. Cheers, John
