Jane Burden Morris - In Clay

I just wanted to see her in three dimensions. So I made her out of clay. Well not quite. First. I made her out of WAX. That's because was is a stiffer material, and this stiffness makes it easier to create a complex shape without worrying about some masses like the large shoulders drying at a different rate than the narrow neck, or the neck being too soft to support the head. From this wax model, I created a rubber mold encased in plaster. The wax model was extracted from the mold by steam melting. I pressed a layer of clay against the inside of the mold, and I have to say I had to try 3 times to engineer a way for the clay to dry evenly enough to safely remove the clay figure from its mold. That was quite tricky, but I got it. Victory! Now I can smooth the clay surface (something that would have been difficult to do on the wax model) at this stage.

Having a mold means that I could make many copies!

She's still moist and pliable at the moment, she needs a nice slow drying before she hits the kiln.