Julia Gillard mould completed for bust for Ballarat

2012-05-26 Julia Gillard mystery image from mould photo

The finished mould of the Julia Gillard portrait bust for Ballarat Prime Ministers Avenue. I took this snap on my mobile of the mould propped upside down in the sunlight on the floor of the foundry. The light falls on the bottom of the negative image of the face inside the mould, and produces this strange effect. So far the only people who have seen the actual head, in the form of a plaster cast from this mould, are the Ballarat Council, who have approved it. A wax copy will be made from this mould and this wax will be encased entirely in plaster and grog and put in the kiln. The wax will melt out and the bronze can be poured in. This is called the lost wax process and has been around since the Chinese invented it centuries before Christ …. or was it someone in the mediteranean.
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