I have just produced cast No. 1 of some, from my largest Beetle Person to date. My first Pal Tiya beetles are a wee bit lumpish, but also sweet faced. I did not think I would want molds from these pieces, but changed my mind. The successful mold is brush-on silicone, with a plaster mother mold. This was an easy project with this simple beetle shape. Cast No. 1 of some is made of RapidSet mortar mix, and looks nice, with the rough texture of the original Mrs. Humble Beetle!

When I make a mold for casting my creations, I never think to set an edition number. My molds are of various materials, and some are better than others, but I don’t expect any will hold up for a large edition. And so far I don’t make second molds from my original unless the first mold is a failure. Also some originals do not survive the mold making. My “editions” will be naturally limited by materials and interest. I expect there to be fewer than 20 casts from most creations, and certainly fewer than 50!

The beetle people displayed in the top rows above are casts. You are looking at two original Pal Tiya beetles in the lower row of images. There is no adequate mold of my smaller humble Pal Tiya beetle. I tried a mold product that fails with cement, polyurethane or epoxy casting! The second cast in the above photos is from an earlier original, which I carved from a block of soap.

I painted the original beetles, but I chose a different method for Cast No. 1 of Some. I like the rustic, more natural effect achieved by rubbing on earth tone powdered pigments (top center & right). The pigments are sealed with a clear matte spray coat.

You can contact me to order a cast of the two larger beetles above, and some of the other beetle people in my repertoire!