*Workshops* September/October

CLASSES 

Welding 101

Instructor: Rea Walsh

Saturdays 1:00-3:00pm

9/21, 9/28, 10/5, 10/12

Price: $325.00 (includes materials)

Details: This 4 week class covers Oxygen-Acetylene welding and cutting, MIG, TIG, Plasma Cutter, and various grinding and metal finishing techniques.  Students will learn all the processes and have the opportunity to create a small scale sculpture or functional craft. No previous experience necessary.

Welding 101

Instructor: Laura Conklin

Tuesdays 7:00-9:00pm
9/24, 10/1, 10/8, 10/15 

Price: $325.00 (includes materials) 

Details: This 4 week class covers Oxygen-Acetylene welding and cutting, MIG, TIG, Plasma Cutter, and various grinding and metal finishing techniques.  Students will learn all the processes and have the opportunity to create a small scale sculpture or functional craft.  No previous experience necessary.

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Blanket Molds 101

Instructor: Darla Jackson

Thursdays 6:30-9:30

10/3, 10/10, 10/17, 10/24

Price: $150.00 + $35.00 materials fee due upon first class

Details: This four week long class is an introduction to rubber blanket molds. Students will learn how to create a rubber blanket mold and plaster mother mold on a small sculpture. No previous experience necessary.

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WORKSHOPS

Creative Brainstorming Techniques and Visual Problem Solving

Instructor: Kyle Keener

Saturday, September 21^st

11:00-3:00pm

Price: $35.00
Details: For more than 30 years photographer / sculpture Kyle Keener has been a successful visual problem solver. Learn his techniques for creative idea generation to help bring your artistic vision to life.

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Photographing Your Art with Kyle Keener from KeenerVision

Instructor: Kyle Keener
Sunday, September 22^st

3:00-7:00pm

Price: $60.00
Details:Once you have made your art it is important to market it with the help of great photographs. For decades Kyle Keener has been a leading photojournalist specializing in studio lighting techniques. Bring your camera and a piece of your art with you and learn to see and photograph it in it's best possible light.

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Animal Sculpture with Darla Jackson

Thursdays 6:30-9:30pm

9/12, 9/19

Price: $100.00 (includes materials)

Students will sculpt a small animal from life using clay. No previous experience necessary.

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Printmaking & Stationary Design with Elizabeth McTear from SquidWhale Designs

Saturday, September 28^th & Sunday, September 29^th

1:00-3:00

Price: $35.00 for one day, $60.00 for both days

Details: Use simple carving tools to carve easy-cut linoleum blocks, creating your own stamps. Your original designs can be used to customize stationary or create art prints. In this class, you will learn to carve simple block stamps, and learn tips and tricks to print beautiful postcards and wrapping paper, which you can then use to correspond to loved ones, or gift to a friend.

One Day

Two Days




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We always offer One-On-One in the Weld and Metal Shop. 

$40.00 Per Hour

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Questions?  What to speak with the instructor of a class? Want to Sign up for a one-on-one? Want more info on the facility, membership options, space rentals, events, and/or take a tour? 

Contact Programs Manager Jenny Welsh 

Email: PSGJennyWelsh@gmail.com  

Phone: (215) 870-1081 

Mold continued...

So I poured the rubber into my mold yesterday and am eagerly awaiting when I get to open it (seriously, I am the most impatient person EVER...ask Justin.) I wanted to share some process photos in the meantime so here they are!

 

Here is the finished clay bunny...

 

And these are the mother mold pieces that go around him. I made sure to Vaseline the heck out of the mold pieces and the board that the sculpture is on, so the rubber won't stick.

 

The rubber will fill in the spaces between the clay sculpture and the mother mold.

 I clamped the mold together and then clamped it to the board and modeling stand.

I then filled the bottom seam with clay to prevent rubber from leaking out.

 Ready to pour.

 

I used the clay that I took out of the mold (when demolding the plaster) to determine roughly how much rubber I should mix. I always add some to make up for any space that was between the clay and the sculpture.

 

New Rubber from Polytek! I'm using the 74-29 for this mold.

 

And a Silibrush...more later on how the rubber comes off of it...I'm dying to know!

 

I then got ready to pour my rubber...

 

Locked and loaded...

 

So I measured out the rubber, mixed it and poured it. I didn't get photos of all that because I was too busy measuring, mixing and pouring (and I didn't want to get rubber on my new phone...!)

 

As the rubber level rises in the mold it will eventually start to fill the other vent hole. As the rubber settled the level dropped a little, so I just refilled the holes to the top.

 

It's always good when you estimate the perfect amount of rubber...

there was just a tiny amount left in the bottom...

Just enough to test out the Silibrush! (Will report back on how it went...)

Baby Rabbit continued...

I have been dying to start this mold, but since the rubber I had on hand didn't fully set up, I had to order a new kit (The rubber I had was leftover from a commission I got in 2008 so it really didn't owe anyone a thing...I was surprised it lasted as long as it did...) Because it hadn't arrived before I left for the studio (sometimes Polytek's turnaround time is ridiculously fast) I decided to do a blanket mold instead of a paint on mold. Below are some of the process photos.

  Baby bunny before the mold (I still have a few things to tweak before he's fully finished, but like to do that after making the mother mold...just in case.)

I covered him with a thin sheet of plastic to protect him from the clay blanket.

This is me cutting slabs of clay to use for the blanket...which is not easy to do while simultaneously trying to take a photo.

Covering the rabbit with the slabs of clay.

Fully covered. (It looks like an ugly potato.)

   

Now for a flange around the bottom and a strip of clay along the length of the piece.

And 2 pieces of clay that will end up as a pour hole and a vent. 

I then added some metal shims along that key that runs the length of the piece so I could do both sides of the mother mold at once. I Vaselined the board and the shims and then mixed up some plaster, threw on a splash coat and then one layer of burlap. I thickened up the edges so I'd have something to bolt through. Because I did this in about 12 minutes (I was running late to pick up Justin for a meeting at our new space!) and had plaster on my hands, I didn't get any photos of me making the mother mold.

After our meeting at the new space, we stopped at Rocket Cat for some coffee (and an apple for O'Rae). Then back to work.

 

I pulled out the metal shims...

...then carefully removed the first side of the mold...then the other.

 

 

He survived!

I cleaned out the clay from the inside of the mother mold, placing it all in a multi mix bucket to measure roughly how much rubber I'll need to pour into the mother mold.

I then cleaned up the edges a bit and put it back together. 

 

Once the rubber arrives, I'll finish the mold, so stay tuned for Part II!