Residency at Mesalands Community College: Part 1

Aluminum casting from a sand mold, in turn developed by a laser cut wooden matrix.

I recently had the opportunity to visit Mesalands Community College in Tucumcari, New Mexico as a visiting artist, where my colleague and good friend Yousif Del Valle is faculty.  I spent a week there and was given free reign on projects to get involved in.  We had some big ideas about how to spend the time: an installation for the studio space, a lithography workshop for the staff and faculty, and castings.

I have always wanted to learn casting so that was a great starting point. Yousif helped me learn the ins and outs of creating figures from wax, developing mold for them and casting them in resin.  Yousif and Senior faculty Joel Kiser  and Emeritus faculty D'Jean Jawrunner made a lot possible while I was there, and were very generous with their time - especially since their big Annual Iron Pour was just a couple weeks away.

I developed the figure with hot wax, which stays pliable while warm.

After making editorial decisions about the figure, I carved him with significant detail.

The completed wax figure.

Developing the mold requires only half of the figure be cast iin silicone at once, so he is
submerged halfway in oil-based clay.

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This is 100% clear silicone mixed with a dab of colored paint (for visibility in mixing) and
corn starch which expedites the drying process.

The figure with a layer of silicone - still in need of plenty more!



The "mother" mold is made from plaster, painted onto the silicone and the figure.  It dries quickly but is crucial
in getting the mold to lock the features of the figure in place during casting.

Yousif coats the second half of the mold in the silicone mix.

Yousif cracks the mold.

Now that the figure has been removed, the mold is reassembled securely for casting.

The white figure is the cast from a two-part fast drying resin mixture poured directly into the silicone mold.
Also pictured: a wax casting we'll use for casting in metal, and the original figure I carved.

In order to cast the wax figure in metal, in needs certain areas to be connected so
 the hot metal can fill every single area - even the tight nooks and crannies.

The wax figure is then coated in many layers of ceramic shell, through which the wax will melt, hence
the "lost wax"casting process.

Here he is after being cast in iron during the Iron Pour a few weeks later.

I will post images of the final products to my Patreon just as soon as I receive them.  The bunny will get the iron casting treatment during their iron pour later this month.  The resin figures will be appearing in various incarnations very soon as well.

Stay tuned for Part 2 where I'll highlight Lithography and Mural projects as well as a bit about Mesalands' amazing studio facilities.