Dazzling White Ritual Offering Sculpture By Highschool Student Made Out of FibreGlass - Process and Outcome

"Untitled" 68cm wide , 79 cm long 41cm. made with :Fibreglass reinforced resin by William Y.L Gao

During the middle of January I began working on my Visual Arts Higher School Certificate major artwork. I had been interested in the body, particularly the arms, I believe they are an impressionable part of the body that can be used to conjure and convey meaning easily. The Developmental representation and approach of this work , has changed over time. I have consulted many staff and professionals about my body of work, initial concepts ranged from flawed concepts to impractical use of materials ( sculpting in porcelain being feasible( this takes years of training) and Wax being capable of withstanding Australian heat).

The work took 60 hours over 8 days to create, and I had amazing guidance by a man named Stuart at Bloodhound Fx( Their website : http://www.bloodhoundfx.com ), It was a lovely studio that was openly ventilated and safety equipment and construction materials were provided. I essentially rented out part of the studio for 8 days and the services only costed $35 an hour( while I used it).
STEP 1:

It all begun by creating a mould of my hands with food grade dental alginate which is essentially a green powder that becomes conforms to shapes when mixed with water. Once the mould was completed I simply slipped my hands out and a layer of plaster bandages was used to reinforce the mould. Once done, plaster was added to water until a gooey consistency was reached and the plaster slip was left to undergo a chemical reaction and harden.
STEP 2:

Once the plaster hardened a higher quality mould was made by using pinky slip (a silicon goo) on the plaster hand created so that copies could be made continuously using one mould.
STEP 3:
![27708180_543689172678856_1957721315_o.jpg](
I then drilled holes into the wrist of the hands I had casted and stood them upright. Chicken wire was then used to reinforce the structure and it also acted as an adhesive to the plaster bandages that would form the beginnings of the wave. Once the bandages were placed on the sculpture was then left to dry again.
STEP 4:

A bonding agent called shellac was applied to the sculpture so that the plaster would not dry out the layer of clay the was moulded on top of it
STEP 5:
The clay was added to the back of the wave as well then smoothened and ripples sculpted. The first part of the mould is then constructed by inserting aluminium strips into the sculpture at various endpoints and critical points so that the mould would have several easily assemble components. During this process, to ensure that all the details of the finger tips were kept, a mould of the four hands upright simultaneously was made and then the clay was coated with a silver mould release agent.
STEP 6:

Layers upon layers of fibreglass was placed on the mould bonded together by fibreglass resin after being catalysed. The ends were trimmed and the mould was cleaned up a little.

STEP 7* The insides were then discarded and some of the clay was salvaged. Then the components of the mould were cleaned and waxed.
STEP 8
Once cleaned and ready, the mould was reassembled and the insides were fibreglassed and doused in a resin that turned white when dried.

STEP 9

Once removed from the mould, the pink slip mould was taken off to reveal the hands and the piece was sanded turn to perfection!!!

This was my first time making fibreglass sculptures and I would appreciate any curation, feedback, suggestions on how to modify/improve the work( i.e painting, stencilling etc.), or suggestions for a name would be greatly appreciated. I worked really hard to make the piece the way it is. And of course please up-vote and follow for more content on photography,art and life. Till next time! - Will (aka Temur)