Category Archives: My Art

First Fat Baby Bird Cast

P.T. Artist Sandra Stowell Posted on by
  • photo of cement cast fat baby bird
First cast is at left, second cast is featured in the right two photos

Here is my first Fat Baby Bird cast in cement. This is the first cement “pour” in my new mold, and this mold is fine! Unfortunately my casting was flawed; I did not mix enough cement, and with the RapidSet material mixed fairly thick for strength, the layers show. So this first cast is far from perfect, but good enough to prove the mold and to please me. After all I know that I can do better with the next one!

I rather love the air bubble that was trapped in the eye. This accidental void actually perfectly matches the personality of my quirky fat baby bird, and makes this first proof special. So a good several days work, I think. And I will make another fat baby bird cast today.

Time passes … and we have the second cast. This time I mixed enough material, BUT I used a slightly different mixture (RapidSet CementAll instead of the high strength Mortar Mix). This seems much harder to mix well: it was lumpy and since it sets so quickly, I get in a hurry mixing it. I fear there are weak spots in this cast, where there were unmixed dry lumps of cement! I don’t seem to have any trouble mixing the Mortar Mix, which has a larger grit sand, I think. The dry material did not seem lumpy, but perhaps I need to mix it more, or even sift it before adding water. That would be a big pain!

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New Collages

P.T. Artist Sandra Stowell Posted on by

I am “arranging” in order to develop new collages, while my current casting are on hold; I am waiting for a materials delivery!

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Sweeping with Feather

P.T. Artist Sandra Stowell Posted on by

I am trying out various options for this arrangement before I work up a final piece. I am currently quite in love with the concept and the arrangements, but of course that will change. I will probably hate the finished work when complete, for at least a few days if not longer. And then I will fuss with it, possibly altering and even ruining it. I can usually “fix” my ruined pieces, but not always!

I think the dimensional pieces will need to be embedded to be secured in a finished artwork, with the paper protected. I don’t like putting anything behind glass anymore. This may mean an epoxy resin pour, with all the stress and mess that entails. I don’t really want high gloss though. Must think!

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Making molds from sculpture

P.T. Artist Sandra Stowell Posted on by

I have two new molds, both molds from sculptures of birds. My first stone carving, Fat Bird, will soon be available as a limited edition cast. And I have a new, better mold of my Birds in Nest.

It was a long working day yesterday! I applied several coats of (the orange) silicone for both of these molds, using Smooth-On Rebound 25 platinum silicone. Mold-making can be an endurance exercise! It is tedious work to carefully apply coats every 45-60 minutes. Once the first coat has been applied, the timing for subsequent coats is important, and the work is messy and requires my full attention.

This morning I made the plaster “bandage” two piece mother molds. The layers of gauze plaster strips are applied in one go, but the first sections must set before the second sections are built. So I completed the plaster sections more quickly than the silicone inner molds, but I find the work just as messy and finicky. It is now mid-afternoon, and I just carefully removed the (almost dry) rigid plaster mother molds. It is a great relief to get these off without any problem.

I built up a cut seam in the silicone for Birds in Nest, but the Fat Bird is a glove mold. I wanted to avoid a seam, but I worried about removing the mold. And I did have to cut the thickened flange to remove it, so I will have to be very careful not to tear it!

Tomorrow I may pour a cast if I have the energy! I may need a recovery day! Also I don’t know if I will use my usual RapidSet cement for Fat Bird. Perhaps I will look into using a stone dust product instead.

example of cast from the first, bad mold of the birds in nest
Fourth cast from 1st mold



I have painted this third cement cast from that first defective mold of Birds in Nest. This mold is now completely missing the defective first detail coat of silicone, but is still a usable mold. I have four casts from this first mold: the first is my translucent jade green resin cast, the other three are cement. This cast has black cement color added to the mix, and has been dry rubbed with metallic paints, and sealed.

Before making the new mold, I increased the depth of detail on the original, and I added a bit more material all around the base/nest to make it more complete. This brings the bird up of the surface all the way around, and makes the piece looks better from the back! And this time I used the right silicone for all the mold coats!

So I expect to like the new casts better, but they will be very similar to this one.

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Molds in Work

P.T. Artist Sandra Stowell Posted on by
Molds of these two Bird Sculptures

Finally making a mold of my first (lime)stone carving made in the summer of 2017! It was only last summer that I decided I must make a mold, in order to have 2 or 3 cement casts of my Fat Bird.

The other orange blob is a second attempt with a slightly revised version of my oil clay birds in nest. The first mold inner coat was the wrong material, and has disintegrated quickly. I can use the first mold, but without much detail. I worked the clay back into shape, and tried to improve it, but mama bird is still cross-eyed!

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Jump Rope with the Moon

P.T. Artist Sandra Stowell Posted on by
Jump Rope with the Moon, 12″ x 13″ X 3″ mixed media artwork
Now set in resin, ready for final touch up & tweaks, TBD
(actual photos of work at left, foil of photos on the right, of course)

Jump Rope with the Moon is a bas relief mixed media artwork, original pieces of artwork (paperclay, epoxy resin, fiber) set in poured resin into a found wooden drawer. Somehow playful but serious at the same time, two field workers play jump rope with a somewhat puzzled moon, attended by a swooping bird.

I decided the “shooting star” & grasses, shown in the upper photos, make the piece too busy. So these are not present in the resin set version below, and probably will not be added back in. I am considering the possibility of adding lighting inside the box/drawer, either on the left side or along the top. Would be a pain to do, but not terrible, but I am not sure it is a good idea!

I have another option at this point: I can “dull down” the glossy resin. Again, I have not decided to do this, as I find this artwork pretty satisfying as is!

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Lighting Resin and

P.T. Artist Sandra Stowell Posted on by

I have adjusted the nesting bird so that the light inside now gently lights up into the young birds heads … but not the mother birds head: the photos above show progression of lighting from left to right, then lights out!

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Starry Nesting

P.T. Artist Sandra Stowell Posted on by

Above is a nest base for my mother & two babies bird sculpture. This was an experiment that is nothing like I had planned, but it works! And I am inspired to experiment further, of course!

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Production Line!

P.T. Artist Sandra Stowell Posted on by

Front row: casts in green translucent resin, black pigmented cement, & basic cement. I have four casts now, three are RapidSet Mortar mix. The one at the far right has been painted. Middle photo is of same cement as the first photo, with different lighting.

On the stand is the oil based clay original, reworked a bit for re-use. I do want to make a better mold of this before squash it away!

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