House of Shadows

Vampiress Morbidia

©2008 Laurie Franklin

Morbidia’s transformation continues in today’s post. If you might want to read all posts related to this series, click on the link Vampiress Morbidia in the Category drop-down menu in the sidebar.

Even bald, Morbidia is an imposing figure. She will stand six feet tall when completed so let’s take a look at how her body is formed. Laurie uses a dress form to shape the torso of her sculptures. She begins by wrapping the dress form with saran wrap to protect it. The next step is to shape wire mesh over the lower part of the neck, the shoulders and bust area. Laurie uses aluminum rain gutter mesh that you can purchase at any home improvement store. The mesh is covered with a 3/4 ” layer of Celluclay both inside and out for the underlayment.

When the Celluclay is completely dry, Laurie uses a paint brush to cover the form with a slightly thinned down coat of Sculpt or Coat. The purpose of this step is to seal and protect the mache. If not sealed, the mache will pull the water out of the DAS clay causing it to dry too quickly. When dry, the form will be rock hard.  At this point, the form is removed from the dress form while it is still flexible enough to give just enough for slide over the cures of the form.

The next step is adding DAS clay on top of the sealed Celluclay. Laurie likes to think of this layer as her skin. She tries to keep this layer about 3/8” thick and spreads it on with her thumbs, a wooden potter’s clay tool, and a paintbrush. She also uses plenty of water to keep the clay lubricated and to keep the tools from dragging too much. Once the “skin layer” is dry she coats the torso with another layer of Sculpt or Coat to seal the DAS clay. Next she starts adding details like clavicle, tendons and upper breasts.

While sculpting Morbidia, Laurie experimented with Paperclay. She used DAS clay on one side of Morbidia’s body and Paperclay on the other side. She found that Paperclay shrunk about 15%, was much easier to spread with her thumbs, sanded a bit easier and dries lighter. The final step at this point was to sand the completed torso with 100 grit sanding screen. Laurie uses sanding screen because it lasts longer than sandpaper. The reason she does the sanding at this point is to see how the details and form are looking, if necessary she can still take appropriate steps to make adjustments.

Sanding DAS or Paperclay is a very dusty process. If at all possible it’s a good idea to sand it outdoors. I have a large covered porch which works well unless the wind blows the rain in under the porch. Because we live in such a rainy area, my husband installed a vent fan in my studio. However, I still prefer sanding outside because the décor in my studio is“black and white”. It seemed like a good idea at the time, but sanding clay is still dusty even with the vent fan running. It’s a good idea to wear a dust mask when sanding DAS or Paperclay because the dust is superfine. Admittedly I’m not good about wearing a dust mask and someday I may pay the price if I don’t correct that behavior. So as my mother would say, “Do as I say, not as I do”.

In the large photo of Vampiress Morbidia at the top of the page Laurie has added eyelashes and more eyeliner around her eyes. The lashes were inserted individually with a pair of tweezers and a tiny dab of Super Glue in small holes made with a push pin. In the picture at the bottom of the page the damage from Morbidia’s tragic nose dive has been repaired. All the work you have seen so far had been completed when the sculpture fell over on Laurie’s studio floor which has commercial type carpeting with no padding covering a concrete base. Laurie had to back up as step at this point, use clay to repair the damaged areas and repaint. She referred to the accident as a SLIGHT SETBACK and reached out to friends to support her request for a “blood transfusion” for Morbidia. A good sense of humor is certainly the best defense to get you through difficult times.

Halloween Forum members had questions about how long these sculptures will last. Here is Laurie’s response, “As far as how long the clay will hold up? Really only time will tell, but I would expect these sculpts to last for many, many years if properly displayed and cared for. I take great pains to make sure that everything is sealed and NOT exposed to exterior conditions, with the exception of dry conditions outside for a few hours. I think they’d hold up just fine if in a covered area even though it’s outside and wet. That’s one of the reasons I seal everything really well with Sculpt-Or-Coat and flat plastic varnish.”

Tomorrow I will continue with Morbidia’s progress and show you how her hair is applied. You will also notice that her repairs included not only a nose job, but breast enhancement as well! It made me giggle and I told Laurie if my body was in such skilled hands as hers I would go for the package deal too. More tomorrow…

Thank you for being our guest at the House of Shadows. Please come back soon!

As a side note, I have added new books and movies into the store. Every time I add more to the book list, my personal wish list grows longer so I’m leaving notes where Santa can find them while there are still enough days to get on the “Nice” list.