Plaster raking. Never heard of it. Apparently, plaster raking is a pretty old method of manufacturing things like ceiling medallions, vases, crown molding... Jeff Koons popularized it as a means of creating art.
I went to a sculpture demo last Friday where we were shown the plaster raking method- specifically how to make an urn. Our newest teacher, Fernando Mastrangelo, showed us how to build a rake (which looks like a total pain in the ass), and how to create a "perfect" piece in the round.
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| At the start, you have your structure (in this case, foam with some fiberglass tape, I believe)... |
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| Start adding your cold-water plaster mix |
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| ...rotate the rake as you add/wait for the plaster to set up... |
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| This shit gets messy. |
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| Finally taking a smoother shape... |
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| Looking pretty sweet. |
Our demo time was up before the project was finished, but I will try to get some photos of the end product. By the time this was done, there was plaster in little mountains all over the floor and the rake- vaseline is paramount in keeping the rake from being ruined. I mean, this is insanely messy. But you can end up with near-perfect creations with a mass-produced feel.
I am a bit turned off by the math aspect of created the rake (everything has to be perfect!), however, the the end result is so awesome and totally worth the trouble. I am interested in making many, many little globes...
Pretty damn rad.
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