11-08-09, draft (needs pictures)

Astrid:

There's this thing that goes on with this group, the late Alan of the UK called it "clay synchronicity", where someone will be working on a thing, thinking about a thing, and then somone else posts about that very thing.

I was up until dawn filing the items I cured yesterday. I felt that if I filed them and then wet sanded them I would have to wet sand for a shorter amount of time. Filing takes off the big lumpy areas that I want flat and smooth.

Then you post asking about filing. See synchronicity strikes again.

Here's the tools I use: Jewelry files

http://www.norajean.com/Biz-Archive/LEXX-Home/POF-Hand-001.htm

and raspers, check out the next page and look at the tool with the blue handle. That's one of the wood rasper tools, I have a set of 5 and one has gone MIA. It's a "Mascot" wood rasp set.

http://www.norajean.com/VermontFarmhouseJr/Primer-007.htm

When I have big cured lumps to smooth out I start out with the rasper, then follow up with the edge of the square or triangle jeweler's file. When filing I go in circular sweeps, first big and then smaller and smaller, obliterating the scratch marks.

For faces I follow up the filing with filling in the scratch marks with "skin" colored clay mixed with TLS, like foundation make up and that fills in the scratchy lines.

http://www.norajean.com/Biz-Archive/Sculpt/TLSMakeUp/Index.htm

I don't find that sand paper works all that well with getting the faces where I want them to be, or in between fingers or toes. The jewelry files are my tool of choice and then slathering a layer of TLS and skin color to smooth things out. Sometimes I don't even mix TLS with the skin color. I get the filing dust off of a thing and then mash on more raw clay, smooth that out with my fingers. It depends on the item I'm wrestlng with.

Dig it... I grew up with brick layers and sheet rock installers. I think along the line of spackle and grout. If there's a gouge in the sheet rock you fill it in with spackle, smooth it out, paint over it. That's how I attach sculpting, like I'm on a construction job site. LOL

Here is the filing faces introduction.  

http://www.norajean.com/Biz-Archive/Sculpt/FileFaces/Intro.htm

There are links to before and after pictures. But that page was built before 2003. There's other examples of filing faces since then.

Patrick Stewart as Jean Luc Picard

http://www.norajean.com/Biz-Archive/Sculpt/JeanLuc/1-005.htm

http://www.norajean.com/Biz-Archive/LEXX-Home/CowboyKai-1b.htm

Bruce Willis as a MerDad

Before:

http://www.norajean.com/Biz-Archive/Sculpt/MerBruce/1-003.htm

During:

http://www.norajean.com/New_Projects/ManAndBeast/MerBruce-2004/Baby-002.htm

Sleeping Lady got filed

http://www.norajean.com/New_Projects/PenPals/2004-SleepingLady/Nude-011.htm

Lady with the pot got filed

http://www.norajean.com/New_Projects/ManAndBeast/LadyWpot/Index-3.htm

I'll use this post as a review of filing after the first curing. I'm glad you asked, the website needed an update for this technique.

xoxo

NJ

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