Hello,
So initially I had wanted to work with Kombucha and make a book, but that wasn’t going to pan out so instead I continued my midterm with materials and techniques from both parts of the semester.
Using 2 of my 3D printed skulls from this past winter, I created a two part mold. It was nice to be able to make molds at the same time because the prints are identical!
Using the recipe that worked best last time Janni and I tried bio-plastics, my first cast came out pretty solid. Unfortunately, although using the same exact recipe I was not able to make another cast that was even remotely useable, and neither were the experiments. I thought that the issue was the shape of the face of the skull mold being too nonuniform and not allowing the mixture to cure properly. This doesn’t seem to be the case because I tried to make multiple casts in both molds and neither were successful.
What is certainly successful was the rubber mold; it captured the detail of each layer of the 3D print which is interesting in terms of a cast object. The visual languages and technique are inherently juxtaposed.
SO in order to get a successful skull I made some in plaster:
(Accidental combo of bioplastic and plaster)
In the end I am pleased with the plaster casts, I think it would be interesting to try and combine the materials and see how they adhere/do not adhere/ create new textures.
To continue this project I would like to mix materials, make a large quantity of these and install them in a space.
-Harlie