Cat's Eye Carving

The Cherub Sculpture VI

This post goes into the measuring process in more detail, focusing on the arms of both of the Cherubs.

As you can see I marked on the template the distance in from the edge of the stone (picture 3), I drew a line which I transferred onto the stone by using 2 rulers (picture 4), and more than one pair of hands!

I cut this area off and masoned the stone off completely square to the arm. I was then able to mark the heights of the measurements, in pictures 6 and 7 I have moved around the arm in order get a better understanding of the forms, I have started to cut under the arm to reveal the body of the Cherub.

As you can see the measuring is becoming more refined and I am getting closer to the finish!

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The Cherub Sculpture V

The next stage was to turn the maquette around so I could start taking some measurements off the wings and the back of the heads.

In order to do this, I made a template of what I had drawn on my bench and placed the plaster model of the Cherubs on this. I could continue marking lines on the template paper for guidelines.

i needed to find the point where the wings met in the middle, and how high this point was. I had left some extra stone on the back of the heads in order to give me enough stone to carve curls into the hair.

By using the models of the Cherubs, I was able to determine how far in I needed to come, to get the edge of the body, I couldn’t just saw down as this would take off the wing, so I sawed in horizontally to a point where I knew the edge of the body was.

I was able to put identify more measurements on the wings and this enabled me to start forming the shape. Obviously I can’t take too much stone away from under the wings-yet. This is because while I am still wielding heavy mallets and chisels, there is a danger of knocking the wrong bit off. When I start to spend more time on the hair, I will start to develop the wings more.

I am really pleased with the progress of this commission. The Tetbury limestone that I am using has a lovely golden hue and it is very dense so I will be able to carve some fine details.

Until next time…

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The Cherubs Part IV

As you can see once I had removed the bulk of the stone away with my saws and heavy chisels, I was able to start refining some of the points in the faces. This was done using my squares, rulers and sliding squares.

I measured in from the front onto a pre-determined point on the plaster maquettes, using the external line that I had drawn on my bench. (Because this was the same dimensions as the block of stone I was able to transfer measurement onto the stone carving.) I then took a measurement in from the side and finally I measureed the height from the base of the Cherub.

All of this is done with care, as the look of final sculpture will depend on how precise I am at this stage. If you imagine an invisible box, the corner touching the point on the maquette, so when I chop in it is as though someone has poured paint on the invisible box as what I call a check is cut out of the stone.
Look at the red cross I have marked on the stone on the upper part of the taller Cherub. This is the furthest most point on the eyebrow on the left side, I have cut in using my chisel, creating steps-the tread is the bit I will cut away, the corner is what I would describe as the corner of the invisible box-this is the important point that I am revealing. Confusing I know.

Follow that red cross through the photos and you will see that it gives me an indication-along with other such points that I have revealed, of where to take the stone away, until finally I have the start of the forehead and hair line.

I will carry this process through the whole carving and you will see how with each point I can refine the detail until I get to stage where I am confident that I have enough and I can start to put real definition into the sculpture of these two Cherubs.

If you have any questions please feel free to leave a comment at the bottom of the page or come and see me and  my Cherubs in person.

Thank-you for reading and I hope you are finding these posts interesting.

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The Cherubs Part III

The next stage was to position the plaster model of the Cherubs on the stone to give me an indication of how to proceed.

I then marked the size and shape of the stone on my bench and this is where they remained until it was time to turn them round but that comes later.

I used squares, sinking squares and rulers to mark out the first cuts. I can saw this stone-it takes a while and when I hit a vein of Calcite I decided to finish by hand rather than risk blunting my saw.

As you can see from the photos I was able to mason the face that I had just revealed with my axe, this is used as a large bolster and is a traditional stonemasons tool.

Each measurement that I take represents 3 points in space-3 dimensions. The distance in from the front, the distance in from the side and the height from the base upwards.

In order to carve the cherubs with more ease and peace of mind, I ordered the stone 3 inches taller than their height. Therefore I took this into account with every height measurement that I took.

The first check I cut out gave me the side of the arm, I then took out an area that gave me the side of the head and top of the shoulder, then I cut out a section that gave me the outside edge of the taller Cherub’s head and the height of the wing.

I moved to the other side and was able to carry out a similar process.

The final part of this sawing stage saw the height of the top of the head of the smaller Cherub and the gap between the two heads revealed.

Now more points can be identified….

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The Cherubs part II

The next stage was to cast the clay models in plaster.

I separated the cherubs in order to cast them more easily. I scored a line to distinguish between the front and back-this allows me to see where the two halves will be for casting. I pushed in brass metal shim along this line to give a barrier against the plaster.

The first layer of plaster is a very thin coloured layer-the reason for this will become apparent later.

I applyed this first layer to both halves of each cherub, making sure to completely cover the features and not to trap any air. I allowed this to dry before applying the second and final layer.

It is very important to have a good knowledge of this process and the drying times of plaster, it ‘goes off’ all of a sudden and this is the best time to layer on the plaster.
I was very fortunate that my Grammar school had a 3D department where I learnt all about working with clay and plaster. My degree in sculpture focused on portrait and figurative modelling in clay and plaster, so I have a good deal of experience with these processes.

If you would like to learn more in a hands on environment please get in touch via my contact me page

Once the outside of both cherubs were completely covered in plaster-except the centre line I allowed the plaster to dry out. The centre line now gives me an in and very carefully I prise the halves appart. The clay inside must be dug out completely-but carefully in order not to scratch the mould.

Once the inside is completely clean, I brush a barrier on the inside as I now start to pour in the plaster , carefully so as not to trap any air. The liquid plaster will suddenly ‘go off’ this is when the ability to ice a cake comes in handy! Using a spatula I smeared the plaster being careful not to get any on the joint.

Once all halves are done I put them together lining up the edges so the final cast will be a perfect replica of the clay model. I used hessian sacking and more plaster to bond the two halves together. I then poured some plaster inside to join the two halves on the inside. Don’t fill up the inside, it isn’t necessary and wastes plaster.

You may have noticed that the older of the two cherubs didn’t have it’s wings-this is because it would have been too dificult to cast it with them on. I put them on once the casting was completed.

Once the casts had dried out completely I was able to start chiselling off the outer skin of plaster. The thin layer of coloured plaster now comes into use, it gives me an indication of how close I am to the actual cast.

Well you can now see the finished casts. If I want to change any detail or add any more plaster I can.

Next stage is the sawing of the actual stone 🙂

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