... on ampersand fun.

Over the past few weeks I've been having a bit of fun with a new ampersand project. Recently, on one stupidly hot and humid Brisbane day, I exiled myself to my Ma's air conditioning and spent a whole afternoon carving a new ampersand.

Here's how I carve something. I trace a template onto an ordinary piece of plasterboard sheeting, the sort that you use to line the walls of your home. I get busy with a scalpel and hey presto! A big mess!

I wanted this ampersand to be able to stand up by itself, so I carved two and glued them together, and then plastered over the join. 

I really like the swirly-curliness of this ampersand. I like how you can see the definite 'E' and 'T' that make up the form of it ('et' meaning 'and' in french, and I don't know why I assume this but I do... is that why ampersands sometimes say 'et'? Other times they're more like a plus sign, or a squiggle.) and that  it says 'et' in a really Austin Powers kind of way!

When it wasn't quite so hot, I got out the Pinkysil and made a mould. It was a bit of a close call though - it was still quite warm, and the silicone had started to go 'off' (or set) before I'd even finished mixing the two parts. Eeek!

It turned out okay though. I always feel quite nervous as I watch something I've spent hours carving disappear under the Pinkysil, because I know that once the silicone has set and I try to remove the original from the mould, I'll have to break it into a thousand pieces to get it out. But - then the fun starts... will the cast result be as nice as the original?

Hurrah! Yes - I don't miss the original one bit! In fact, I really like the bulk and heaviness of the cast result - the Gedeo Resin Plaster that I use is a superfine, weighty material, quite unlike the lightness of regular Plaster of Paris. I've made a couple of these now, and having had some practice at the finishing (they need quite a lot of hand sanding) I'm feeling that they're ready for my Etsy store. And guess what? They DO stand up by themselves!

... on carving some more letters.

Had a spare couple of hours yesterday - set myself the task of extending the alphabet. My word possibilities will increase greatly with the inclusion of these two!

...on carving again.

Today I spread out some newspaper and got on with carving something new. Not typography this time - spongy amoebic blobbiness hooray!

I can imagine a repeat pattern of these spreading out over my wall - we'll see!

... on the best name for a baby girl.

Up and running! My first batch of cast Plaster Wall Words are making their way into my Etsy store. I don't have a full alphabet yet but my initial letter choice was influenced by wanting to make this for The Beckster.

... on an asterisk.

I've just carved the cutest thing ever.

... on a disaster.

All was going according to plan. I carved, and I enjoyed it.
When I was finished I sat the letters on top of my bookcase for a while to enjoy them.
Then I made some latex moulds of the letters. I painted on twenty coats, which took two weeks allowing for drying time inbetweentimes, and really ponged.

Possibly the mistake came in slathering a load of plaster over the top of the whole lot to make a 'mother' to support the latex while casting, because here's what happened when I tried to get the whole lot apart:
I had to pull so hard on the latex to dislodge it from the mother and the original letter that it distorted unusably.
...and I destroyed my letters too. Waaah!

... on not thinking about what you're doing.

See, this is what happens when you drink wine while using a template that has to be traced backwards in order for the thing to come out right!
Gah!

...on an ampersand.

The other morning I was rueing the notion that it's hard, sometimes, to fit my desired life in around my actual life. 'Choose a new font and carve some new letters' has been on my to-do list since the beginning of the year, and every now and then I'll have thought 'I wish I had time to DO that!' So the other morning, I gave myself a mental shake.
"Stop that at once! You've got twenty minutes before you have to get in the shower! Do it NOW!"

Monday...
Tuesday...
Wednesday!
Plaster dust all over my house again, and it feels GOOD!