Now that I have the materials needed, I’ll be making the mold required to produce this historic model in hand-pressed kiln fired red terracotta this weekend, it will be a few weeks before the first one can be produced.
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Louis Sullivan, Elmslie, Sullivanesque terracotta
As I look around in google and flickr’s images, there’s certainly no lack of a large variety of Sullivan & Elmslie designed architectural terracotta, both pictured on building facades as well as stripped-off artifacts such as those found at the City Museum in St Louis from demolitions. As I find interesting designs that I like and think will sell, I’ll be working on more models of these unique and interesting designs. I’ve already identified at least two pieces I want to model next, the first one was from the same James Scoville building as the recently finished design with the webbed lotus leaf design. The original shown below was sold…
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Master mold for the Elmslie/Sullivanesque James W Scoville building design
With the plaster backing done for the rubber positive I made yesterday, I removed the assembly from the rubber mold. Once the plaster backing on this master positive is soaped up well, I can make the plaster piece-mold of this for pressing the terracotta into, The piece mold will be made in at least 5 pieces, most likely about 8 pieces. It won’t happen very soon as I used up the very last bag of pottery plaster I had on hand and I’ll have to order more along with some other materials and I need some more clay, but I don’t want to order clay when it’s below freezing, so…
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Model from the James W. Scoville, Adler, Sullivan, Elmslie Chicago building
I’ve begun the process last night to take my design towards making it in hand-pressed kiln fired terracotta, that requires two additional mold making steps, the first of which is making a rubber positive master cast using the new rubber mold, the second step is making a plaster piece-mold taken off the rubber positive. Shown below is the rubber positive that was poured in last night- the remaining cavity not filled with that amber colored rubber will be filled with plaster to save on expensive rubber since only the face is the important portion of the design. The amount of rubber shown in the mold was 2 gallons total, and…
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Another model from the James W. Scoville, Adler & Sullivan designed, Chicago building
The Virginia Museum of fine art which has a few artifacts from this building also has at least one of these lunettes with a very similar design on it as the spandrel panels have. I like the shape of it as well, I have no plans to but easily could make the surrounding flat pieces for it if a client wanted them. I will be working on this model very soon, of course it takes time and this type of work is done when I have time, and more time for the various mold making processes to get done, but progress photos will come along here soon enough. This would…
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Louis Sullivan “Sullivanesque” design
I just ordered the two gallons of pourable mold rubber I need to “convert” my “Sullivanesque” design that was recently finished- into a form I can take a plaster piece mold from for pressing terracotta into. Two gallons is not enough to fill the mold, it is only enough to pour about 1″ deep, the rest of the depth will have to be plaster to save on the costs of not having to buy two more gallons of expensive rubber.
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Louis Sullivan Sullivanesque mold finished, and a timelapse video.
At last the mold is finished along with the complete time lapse video for that process; I also cast the first interior cast from the mold and gave it a weathered antiqued wash so I could get a photo. It will be available in brick red, kiln fired terracotta as well. To purchase a cast of this design; https://www.urbansculptures.com/cart/product/sullivanesque-panel-after-james-w-scoville-chicago-nr-ls-2/
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Louis Sullivan, Elmsley, Schneider James W Scoville building Chicago, progress for 11/21/2018
More detailing is roughed in as is the background texturing, the clay needs to firm up a little before I finish it up. Hope to get that done this week and weekend, and make the rubber mold next weekend.
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Louis Sullivan, Elmsley, Schneider James W Scoville building Chicago, progress for 11/9/2018
Some more progresss for today! And today Nov 10th. The sales link for the pressed terracotta is here https://www.urbansculptures.com/cart/product/sullivanesque-panel-after-james-w-scoville-chicago-nr-ls-2/ There will be an interior cast-stone version available first.
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My Sullivanesque model,
I had to dig out some old unfired very fragile clay models of mine from the corner in the utility room since I had to replace the sump pump hose. This model of a Louis Sullivan design I did in 2008, I’m likely going to convert it to do it in terracotta, so I left the unfired clay model out to look over and plan for that. This was not simply molded off an existing piece, it was modelled by me in 2008 for a Chicago client’s townhouse when he couldn’t find the exact design and quantity etc he wanted, so his contractor got hold of me and the end…