COP 03 / Casting a Rock / Clay

To begin I took my spray bottle and filled it with the actual Holy Water (so it's authentic...), in preparation for making the cast.

In the ceramics room I began by hand crafting my 'stone' using clay, which will then be used to create the cast. Although it is supposed to look natural, my inspiration behind the shape is the boulder that Jesus emerges from when he comes back from the dead, so I still had to make sure that the shape looked authentic, but as precise to the shape I wanted.

I used various objects to create texture such as crystals, tree bark, stamps and broken wood. By combining these objects I was able to achieve a natural look:

What I found difficult was ensuring that the stone remained circular, as I worked on other sides I noticed that it became more and more flattened by working on the textures. This is what took up the most time. Eventually I achieved the shape I wanted roughly.

I was advised that it may be easier to place the bottle in the clay by cutting it in half and scooping out the shape of the bottle inside, to then come back together. I did this and then had to make sure that the line where I had cut the clay was not visable, which I easily did with the objects I had previously used.

The next step was to emboss the logo onto the clay. Yesterday I had laser cut my logo 4cm x 2.5cm in size, in order to push into the clay. This technique would allow the logo to look like it is already naturally part of the rock, just like the other marks I had made on it. 

It was quite fiddly as there was the main cross part and then the small drip at the bottom. Problems I could face with this is that it may not cast this very accurately because of any air bubbles that get caught in it, but it is something I will be testing out and hoping for the best.

The next step is to place the clay on a wooden board and wrap a circle of cardboard around it, securing it with clay, in which the melted vinamold (which needs to be melted in a pot for around an hour / an hour and half) will be poured to create the cast. Vinamold is more cost efficient than silicone and can be reheated and used again.

The vinamold was poured into the cardboard and left to set overnight.