Pouring the Wax
Last week we looked at how we made a mould from the clay head. This week we look at how we use the mould to make the head.
If you remember last time we had lots of different pieces of the mould. In order to make the head we need to put all these pieces back together to form a hollow case.
This is tied tight with rope.
It is then soaked in warm water allowing the plaster to absorb the moisture and create a barrier between itself and the wax. The beeswax is poured through a large funnel into the mould at 74 degrees and left to cool for 50-60 minutes.
The excess wax is then poured back out of the mould leaving a hollow wax shell.
We then take apart the pieces of the mould to reveal the complete wax head. As the wax is still warm and very delicate, we wrap the head in a towel and leave to cool slowly to avoid cracking.
Each head is poured in a slightly different coloured wax. We mix into the wax a variety of different pigments of red and blue, brown and yellow to create the different tones. This helps later on in the process when our artists come to colour the head.
Our head moulds can be used over and over again to pour multiple heads and so we keep every single mould ready for the next time they’re needed!
Check back next week when we follow our wax head from the mould shop to the wax bench and see what happens next…