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Ed McCormick
Joined:
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21-Mar-2004
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Started On : 15-May-2006 at 04:30:02 PM, #Views : 6301
Topic Subject : RE: 1,000 |
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Thank you Mr. K for your kind words and bringing that milestone to our
attention. We have a very proud heritage to be sure. As an examples . . .
For those art history buffs I just added a new image to the home page - 'A
Casting From Life' by Edouard Dantan painted in 1887. Click on the image to
read the very interesting history of the imagery within the picture (shades
of the DaVinci Code).
But let's trace our history back even further. I have included part of the
translation for life casting instructions from c1397 book called 'Il Libro
dell' Arte.' That's 609 years ago, two generations before Leonardo Da Vinci
was born in 1452.
Il Libro dell' Arte, or from the English, The Craftsman's Handbook by
Cennino D' Andrea Cennin(translated by Daniel V. Thompson, Jr. New York:
Dover Publications, Inc. 1933, by Yale University Press) was a compendium of
Renaissance technique from painting, frescos, sculpture to life casting.
Today, it is a source for historic art preservation, restoration and
technique.
Cennin's instructions on life casting were contained in the final chapter of
his note book. The headings have been invented to serve as a running guide
to the content of the text; the numbers are those attached to the chapters
in the editions of Tambroni and the Milanesi, and are included here for
convenience in locating references to those editions or to translations
based upon them.
What follows is the direct translations of Cennin's text:
How to Take a Life Mask.[260]
If you wish to have a face of a man or woman, of any rank, adopt this
method. Get the young man or woman: or an old man, Though you can hardly do
the beard or hair; but have the beard shaved off. Take rose-scented
perfumed oil; anoint the face with a good-sized minever brush. Put a cap or
hood over the head; and have a bandage, about nine inches wide, and as long
as from one shoulder to the [p. 124] other, wound around the top of the head
over the cap; and stitch the edge around the cap from one ear to the
other.[261] Put a little cotton into each ear, that is, into the hole; and
drawing tight the edge of the bandage or cloth, stitch it to the beginning
of the collar; and it gives a half turn in the middle of the shoulder, and
comes back to the buttons in front.[262] And arrange and stitch it in this
way on the other shoulder too; and in that way you get the head shaped up
with the bandage. When this is done, stretch the man or woman out on a
carpet, on top of a bench or table. Get an iron hoop, one or two fingers in
width, with a few teeth on top, like a saw. And have this hoop go around the
man's face, and have it two or three fingers longer than the face. Get one
of your helpers to keep it hanging away from the face, so that it does not
touch the waiting person. Take this bandage, and draw it up, around and
around, hooking the edge of it which has not been stitched on to the teeth
of this hoop, and then fastening it in the middle of the space between the
flesh and the hoop so that the hoop stands as far away from the bandage as
from the bandage to the face all around. Let there be two fingers, or a
little less, all around, according to how thick you want the mold of plaster
to come out; for it is right there that you have to cast it.
The Breathing Tubes.[263]
You need to have a goldsmith make two little brass or silver tubes, round on
top, and more open than below, the way a trumpet is; and have them each
about nine inches long, and one finger in diameter, made up as light as
possible. On the other, lower, end they should be made in the shape of the
nostrils of the nose spread at all. And have them closely perforated with
little holes from the center up, and tied together; but at the base, where
they go into the [p. 125] nose, have them kept apart artificially as far as
will equal that space of flesh which lies between the nostrils. After this:
The Operations of Casting the Matrix.[264]
Have the man or the woman stretched out; and have him put these little tubes
into the nostrils of his nose, and have him hold them himself, with his
hand. Have some plaster of Paris[265] ready, made and roasted, fresh and
well sifted. Have some tepid water near you in a basin, and put some of this
plaster briskly on top of this water. Work swiftly, for it sets fast; and do
not get it either too liquid or not enough so. Take a glass: take some of
this preparation, and put it on, and fill in around the face with it. When
you have got it evenly filled, keep the eyes to cover after all the rest of
the face. Have him keep his mouth and eyes closed--not tightly, for that is
not necessary, but as if he were asleep; and when your opening is filled in
one finger over the nose, let it stand a while, until it sets. And bear in
mind that if this person whom you are casting is very important, as in the
case of lords, kings, popes, emperors, you mix this plaster with tepid rose
water; and for other people any tepid spring or well or river water is good
enough.
When your preparation is good and dry,[266] take a scalpel or a penknife, or
scissors, neatly, and cut around the bandage which you stitched on: draw the
tubes out of his nose carefully; have him sit up, or stand up, holding
between his hands the preparation which he has on his face, working his face
about carefully to get it out of this mask or mold. Set it aside, and take
great care of it.
How to Cast this Waste Mold.[267]
When this job is done, take a swaddling cloth, and wind it all around this
mold, in such a way that the cloth projects two fingers beyond the edge of
the mold. Take a thick minever brush; and with [p. 126] any oil you please
lubricate the hollow of the mold, very carefully, so as not to spoil
anything by accident. And wet up some of the same plaster in the same way.
And if you care to mix in some of the powder of pounded brick, it will be
much the better for it. And take some of this plaster with the glass, or
with a porringer, and put it into the mold; and hold it over a settle, so
that when you put in our mixture you may pound gently on the settle with the
other hand, so that the plaster has a chance to get into every part evenly
like wax into a seal, and not make bubbles or holes. When the mold is all
done and filled up, let it stand for half a day, or a day at the most take a
little hammer, and deftly feel over and chip off the outside crust, that is
that of the first mold, in such a way as not to break the nose or anything
else.
HAPPY LIFE CASTING!
Warmest regards
Ed McCormick
For ALI Members
CHARTER MEMBER OF ALI SINCE 2000
Association of Lifecasters International
-----Original Message-----
From: aliforum@lifecasting.org [mailto:aliforum@lifecasting.org]
Sent: Monday, May 15, 2006 1:54 PM
To: info@artmolds.com
Subject: 1,000( Message No. 1000)
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Face Casting and Female Torso Casting. Available
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Hello Ed McCormick
Post Date : Monday 15th of May 2006 01:53:54 PM
Posted by : "Me KITZLEN" blackhole@kitzlen.com
1,000:--
O.K., so we don't always agree, but we're all in the same activity and the
ALI concept is great, the ALI site is a great boon to us all.
The email discussion list waxes and wanes a bit like the tides, but is also
at its best a major positive force, and the ONE THOUSANDTH posting should
not pass without some note of congratulation o all ALI members and -not
least- thanks to Ed for all his hard (Swan like, behind the scenes) work.
Here's to the second thousand and hoping not too many are shy of posting!
Congratulations
..
K.
ALI is an international organization whose members are engaged in the art
and creative industries. Its purpose is to promote the art of life casting
create public awareness of this unique art form, provide its members with
forums to exchange information, resources to enhance their effectiveness and
advance opportunities for their artistic success.
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