Another Half Wit Bowl in Plaster and More

 So, I ordered some more plaster of paris strips and mix after the first attempt at a half wit bowl (see previous post) in plaster, from Stephanie Lee's free class video, where I used the whole box of strips, wasted a box of mix, and wound up having to use clay for the face part. 

It came in Monday (today is Saturday), and on Tuesday, I got the same flower pot I used before and a quart Mason jar out, because I decided to make two more half wits, opened to two blank journal pages in my Wandering Muse journal, and opened a new 8" x 8" wooden cradled canvas. 

I wanted to plaster some of the journal pages before, but ran out of plaster. I just decided to also plaster a wooden support, because I love the way paint looks on plaster if you do it right. Kind of fresco-ish. I'm going to have to do a bit of research before the painting!

I had three times the plaster strips than I had before, so I thought I had way more than enough for these projects. Wrong! 

I cut and wet enough strips to cover the two pages and the canvas board and set them aside to dry. Then I wrapped plastic wrap around the bottoms of the flower pot and jar to keep the plaster from sticking and proceeded to apply wet strips, up to three layers thick on the pot, and two layers on the jar, because I was running out of strips. I saved a short end to use for the nose and lips. 

I left them to dry until Thursday, because we had to make a grocery pick up in a neighboring town on Wednesday. Then I took them off the jar and pot and removed the plastic lining. Getting the bowl off the jar was a bit of a problem, even with the plastic, because the jar was kind of squarish, but I finally got it off without destroying the bowl. Both bowls were still pretty damp, so I added the strip nose and lips, and left them to dry some more. Rather flat noses, but I can build those up later, if I choose to. I still have the plaster mix to add on top! And I still have some clay, just in case...

Nothing done on Friday, because we went to another town to get our first Covid-19 shot for ages 70 and over. Back in a month for the second one! 

Today is Saturday, and I plan on adding the plaster mixture to the dry bowls to help cover any thin places and even out the bumps. Fingers crossed that I don't mess up on the mixing this time, and that I remember to wet the bowls before applying the mix! Didn't get it done...

Sunday! Ok, I mixed the dry plaster up per directions on the box, again. This time I added more water than called for and added the dry plaster a little at a time until I had a thinner mix than before. I remembered to wet the bowl some before I applied the mix, I worked really fast, and barely got a coat applied to both bowls before the mix in the bowl dried hard. I didn't get a coat on the inside of the bowls, again. I did get a coat over the faces this time, but didn't have time to do any sculpting on the lips and very little on the nose. Also, I didn't have time to do much smoothing out of the plaster on the bowls. I may have to do some sanding on them and use the Premier stone clay again to sculp the features. I am so frustrated! 

I don't know what I'm doing wrong to the mix that it's drying to the hardness of a rock that fast, and there's no re-activating it with water. Letting them dry for now. 

When I applied the plaster mix to the outside to try to smooth out the lumpy strips, i had to work so fast, and it dried so fast that it's still lumpy and I lost some of the features. The mix dried before I could coat the insides of the bowls, but I did get the outside coated. I just didn't have time to work with it to smooth it. I guess it takes practice!

Monday, I think, I resorted to my clay again to add to the face areas. I lost patience and didn't work with it too much, as hubby has the house so warm that the clay was also drying too fast. The finish is a bit lumpy, and, again, I hate sanding, so I left it that way, inside and out! I don't mind it for my purposes. It gives them character, I think.

Wednesday? I used gel medium to add paper cheeks and over the face, applied a coat of white gesso inside and out, let dry, applied a bit of acrylic color, applied an umber glaze over the outside and wiped off, touched the color up a bit, and left to dry. Thursday, I painted the insides of the bowls with acrylics and left to dry. Friday (today) I sprayed inside and out with an acrylic spray sealer and called them done!

These could be done in less than a week. I just didn't get in any hurry and procrastinated a lot. :o Again, if you'd like to make one for yourself watch Stephanie Lee's video on Jeanne Oliver's website, because I don't always follow directions! 

Anyway, this trio of lady characters has been fun to create and bring to life, and I love them. They are not perfect, but they sure are fun! I love working with the plaster strips, the mix not so much, and I may make some more bowls later, but for now I have other projects to play with, such as the plaster strips on the wooden cradle board and the Wandering Muse journal pages, also from the Wandering Muse class with Jeanne Oliver!

Stay safe and keep creating! It's good for our mental health! :) Gonna' order more plaster of paris strips just in case!