I decided that since this model is so deep and heavy, I would rough hollow the back out, so I got it off the easel and standing vertically on the work bench so I could unscrew the backer board to access the inside. I probably took out about 35# of clay from the back, it was a bag and a half worth. With it being lighter I screwed the backer board back on and then laid him down flat so I could unscrew the bottom board to give the bottom a curvature. Once that was done I screwed the bottom board back on so it keeps the side baords stable…

I made three of these before I set the mold aside for now, I really need to make a set of block molds of the five plaster sections before using the mold more because it’s the only mold I have since it was made directly off of the clay model. Here’s a shot of the three pressed clay lions drying out, it’s easy to see how much the clay shrinks in the drying process by comparing the first one on the left with the most recent one on the right, the shrinkage is about 1/2″ to 5/8″ of it’s length.