One work week in and I have established a timeline for completing the components for this exhibition. I have given myself the month of April to manage any mishaps or delays, like I experienced this week.
As far as getting my hands dirty this week, I managed to thicken my positive I planned to take a mold off of for my "Book Covers" using wood filler and then sculpting it. The original dollhouse wooden door was too thin for the hinges I had, so I applied layers of wood filler to the back of it and then sanded it to be flush. I also sculpted the insets for the hinges to sit in and then applied multiple coats of polycrylic to seal the surface. This helps prevent the silicone mold from absorbing into the wood and sticking. I had a set back this week due to external events, but I also accidentally scratched a chunk of the polycrylic of of the back of the positive on accident. This set me back a few hours from taking a mold off of it but not too badly. I planned on making a two part mold for the door because my previous tests have caused slight pulling at the back edges when casting in resin. I have cast both sides of my mold and plan to create a wooden mother mold for the outside to clamp both sides together when casting.
I constructed a flask (container for the silicone to sit in while casting) using old legos, courtesy of my sculpture professor, and then glued them to a work board. From there I placed the sealed wooden door into the container, sprayed it with mold release, and then poured the silicone mixture on top of it.
I let it sit over night and then returned to cast the other side. It was a similar process to casting the front just with an extra layer of legos to the walls.
I have also spent time brainstorming another component of my exhibition which is meant to utilize a full size exterior door. Below are sketches of possible orientations as well as how it comes off the wall. i want to incorporate the reflective surface of a mirror in the composition as well and plan to etch into it.
As for the rest of the week I plan to have the final flask made and begin casting final doors this weekend. The goal for next week is to have at least 30 doors cast and have the mold mold for the opposite "book cover" created so I can begin assembling these books.