This was my first step in developing the no-weld armature concept…I don’t use so much copper strapping anymore…You can see how the wings ended up flopping too in the finished piece…
- bee recipe
- 2 parts white cement
- 1 part aggregate
- -the aggregate is aragonite sand plus alkaline resistant 3/4″ glass fibres
- -Latex adhesive milk liquid plus water in one part as well
- I added Eco-House mineral silicate paint in blue to the mix for colour & underpainted a bee design on the body(stripey purple blue)
- -the gold is real gold powder from Exclusive Paints on Chesswood(new location) mixed with more latex adhesive milk brushed on with an Herban Cowboy shaving brush (unused before) put on AL FRESCO not after…
- The extra latex adhesive milk(Sutton Garden & Building Supply gave me extra strength) I over-added makes the bee move-it is more pliable than a regular 25% to 75% water mix, also more waterproof…
- But the wings do move or adjust to temperature differences, you will note the pictures look different…Hot weather can make cement crack due to dehydration & lack of “milk” in adequate proportion to climate severity…I put 50% milk instead of standard 1/4, ’cause Canada is fierce!
- Winter March news: The bee is even stronger than before it likes its garden & is covered in dirt from spray, dog, & watering, as well as snow, from well, snowfall…
- So the mix works & yay! (Dog likes “Essence of Bee” too)…
- Thanks to Nick Nicholson Ferrocement Instructor for teaching me that elegance can occur in cement! (ok, I dropped the Perlite from my recipe ’cause it makes it lighter in weight but also more fragile/less flexible…
- I also dropped the white silicate sand because though it makes it stronger it does make it heavier…
- Personally also the Perlite makes it look lumpy in texture & the white silica sand is a little boring to work with…Bees are not lumpy at the wing, & certainly not boring…Ok that is a value judgement…They are a little lumpy & boring sometimes, but that’s ok!)
Categories: