St. Michael Shrine

This 30″ tall relief sculpture in cast, fired, and glazed terra cotta will sit on the facade pilaster of a gothic revival, urban church building in Washington, DC.

Front of cast ceramic piece after de-mold and touchup. Ready for delivery to kiln!
Flipping the whole mold/cast/backing assembly.
The back of the cast ceramic piece.
Beginning to cast one of the ceramic copies that will be fired. Given the uncertain nature of firing clay (crack and exploding pieces happens!) We made two copies of the piece.
First casting of the plaster prototype!
Mold removed from the clay model and ready for casting of the plaster prototype.
Hard shell of Epoxy Putty (Freeform Air from SmoothOn) over the silicone rubber. Part of the mold making process.
Adding more silicone rubber in the mold making process.
Mold Making
Finished Clay Model
Nearly there… still need clean up and some details and lettering.
Developing the form in more detail and roundness.
Rough in of Big Shapes
Status as of beginning of January: The oval shaped in clay – 31″x20″x3″ and ready to be carved into.
Clay added to board.
The blank oval. Next, I’ll screw some screws into the board and wind wire between them to hold the clay in place when it is added.
Drawing a template for the oval shape of the shrine. The screws are the foci of the oval, and the wire is used for drawing the outline.
The Model for the Proposal in Progress
Concept drawing for the shrine.