Casts From the Past XXX

Casts From the Past is a recurring retrospective of select Palladio GFRG projects.

Any guesses how many moulds were required to create this medallion?

(Hint: it’s usually one for each element of the piece plus one more for a section comprising all the elements together.)

This medallion, the centerpiece for a 20-foot dome, was cast in four pieces. All that remains is verifying their size and aligning the joints between them: a meticulous process measured in millimeters!

Why are farm animals thankful for the glass-fibers that Palladio GFRG uses to strengthen this plaster altar?

Because back in the day, horse, goat, and ox hairs were used to counteract plaster’s tendency to crack. Using glass-fiber keeps our farm friends furry and it’s even created from post-consumer recycled materials.

We’d call that a win-whinnie.

Creating a perfectly symmetrical finial for a cornice is, as they say, easy if you know how.

The secret is pictured here. The profile of the finial is snipped out of sheet metal and then spun around a lump of semi-solid plaster. Once dry, the final (finial?) details are carved by hand.

Repetition can have a spectacular impact, especially when its complexity contains its own contrast.

Plaster pieces can be given the illusion of flexibility by simply bending the silicon mould before casting.
What isn't so simple? Recreating the desired curve in the mould’s wooden support beneath and keeping semi-liquid plaster in the mould until it sets!