The support or skeleton must of course be adapted to line with the pose of the figure, and should be of pipe and heavy wire or rods securely anchored to the base-plate.
The composition of flowers, fruit, foliage, animal life, and landscape is an inexhaustible one, and some beautiful effects can be had in flat-work. Good examples of this character of work can be found on all sides, and to the genius the field of modelling is a broad one, without limit.
For the help and assistance of those who desire to make a deeper study there are many hand-books and treatises on the subject by masters and sculptors, but the boy or girl adopting the work as a pleasant pastime will find this description very beneficial in the selection of tools and materials, as well as the primary steps to the great art of sculpture.
When casting from hands, feet, or ornaments where undercut predominates, the most successful mode is in the use of gelatine or glue.
To cast a head similar to the one shown in Fig. 4, it will be necessary to make a box frame large enough to place the head in.
The cast is to be well oiled, and down the front and back, running around under and back over the base block, strong linen threads are to be stuck on with oil. Warm glue or gelatine is then poured in the box, and left to chill and solidify.
When sufficiently cold the frame may be removed, leaving the solid block of glue like hard jelly; the ends of the threads are to be grasped and torn through the gelatine, thus separating it in two or three parts. The plaster head may then be removed, and the mould put together again and surrounded by the frame to hold it in place.
To make a plaster head this plaster of Paris may be poured into the mould and left for a while, when, on removing the frame and taking the glue mould away, a perfect reproduction of the original head will be found.
When very large objects that would require a great deal of plaster are cast, they are generally made hollow in the following manner:
Obtain the glue mould by the process described, and into it pour a quantity of thin plaster, having first oiled the surfaces that come in contact with it. Turn the mould about and upside down, so the plaster will enter every part and adhere to the glue form. Allow it to "set," and again pour some plaster into the mould, which will adhere to the first coating, and after this has set repeat the operation several times, until a deposit or coating an inch or more in thickness has been made.