Trying to Get It Together

I did a bit more work on the second face and arms. I added some more material to waist and began filling in areas that had gaps or seemed too irregular in material.



Normally our dog Otsu sits outside with me while I work. She protects me from the squirrels. Today Monmon came out to check on the progress.



I feel like the sculpture is about 85% done now. I will do some subtractive work with a scraper next. I have tried that already in some areas and it works pretty good for getting a better final shape to things like mouth edges, eyes, and such. I also want to add a final cement 'wash' over it to unify the look a bit more. Then let it sit for a few weeks before trying to move it to its final site, and remove the under structure.

Hypertufa is still a pretty crude material and not suited for fine detail. My sources say that as it weathers, the moss will degrade and make the surface a bit rougher as well.

Since I hope to get some moss to grow on it, the advise is to wash it with a vinegar water mix to counter the acidity of the cement. Other moss encouraging suggestions are a beer wash (preferably a dark beer), or you can blend moss and beer together to make a moss encouraging slurry. Mmmm.... slurry.