Yvonne saved this statuette from the brink of death by filling the inside with spray foam and recrafting the outer shell out of cement clay.
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Yvonne LaValle on Salvaged Mosaic Marty Bosma on Salvaged Mosaic -
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Brilliant and creative work!
As a professional mosaic artist myself, I love the ingenuity used by verandanevada! What kind of spray foam was used (if you don’t mind my asking)? Was it insulation foam or is there another kind?
I LOVE the kind of artist who is smart wnough to make use of materials not usually associated with mosaic art.
Kudos to you, and BRAVO!!
Marty
The “shell” of the Indian woman was made of plaster which was beginning to disenigrate and I was determinded to save her. I first used the cement clay and covered the outside of the statue working to keep it as smooth as possible. Because of the detail on the face I used the cement clay, but thinner and used a stiff craft brush to cover the detail. It was only when this was all dry that I filled the cavity with foam. I can’t remember the brand or name of the foam but It is just insulation foam from Home Depot. The REASON for filling her with foam was two fold, though. I wanted to of course do more to support the structure and foam weighs little but also I wanted to use her outside so I wanted to make sure that is was WATER-WORTHY! The foam expands so it filled the interior nicely, but I was cautious to fill it part way and let it harden then fill in the rest because otherwise you may have that foam all over the place. It is NASTY. It is sticky and will NOT come off your skin or anything else it gets on. It will not absorb water so it was perfect for sealing the opening. It can be carved when it hardens (12-16 hrs) I used to make
“mountains and rocks” for my young grandson using this foam on cardboard, letting it harden and then carving “caves” for his dino’s and wild things. I painted it to look just like rocks and he loved them. A little storage space is needed, but he loved them for ages and they are tough. Just use caution with this foam to make sure that when it is in the fresh sprayed stage no animals or children can even think of touching it. I’ve had lots of experience with it. SO let your artistic minds GO with that one!