French Louis XV Console Table and Rococo Mirror

Happy to tell you this is the last post about the console table, because last week I finished the crest between the legs and the last job was gluing on the pink/peach marble top. Together with the mirror they make a lovely pair. 

And here's a little video:

I loved the challenge of designing and building this table but now it's finished there's no need for me to hang on to these pieces any longer. That means the table and mirror are up for sale and ready for a new owner. If you are interested or have any questions, please feel free to contact me for more details. 

ps. right click on any picture to open it in a new page and you can view it in more detail.

traveling boxes

The green one is from last year and i've made the new ones in the same style. Different base color but with the same black plinth and interior decor. The mirror received a velvet lining, but besides that they all match.

casting resin

Casting the mirror frame in plaster of Paris wasn't really successful. I had the presumption upfront, but i just had to try it out. As you might have seen the model is just too thin and too intricate for the brittle gypsum.

The company that supplied the silicon and plaster also has a few other poring media, so I've bought some resins. I've opted for Poly Urethane and got me a test kit of Acrylate in it as well.

The whole process is more or less the same as using plaster. Measuring and accurately weighing the individual components and making sure everything is ready and set. Cos of the short pot-life you only have a few minutes to poor.

The two different resins both took about an hour or so to set. Releasing the frames from the mold showed that the acrylate did not release any air bubbles during setting. It was shattered with really tiny pores and it wasn't strong enough, it looked a lot like plaster and broke... Turns out the poly urethane as first choice was a good one. It's perfect; it's strong & hard (tough as boots) and takes all the detailing!

I'll cast a few more and once they'll finished they will go on offer.

finished a different finish

This mirror is a copy from the original wooden one i'd made earlier. It's cast in plaster of Paris, which turned out quite a challenge cos of the delicate shapes combined with the brittle characteristic of gypsum. I still managed to get one or two good casts (with accompanied swearing, sorry bout that). I will try out casting it in resin too, but proceeded with the gilding process to see how that would work (i.e.learn from my mistakes :))

It's very time consuming with all the details. First a red base which is easy with plaster cos it takes any craft paint. Then a thin layer of acrylic gilding size, letting it rest for 15-20 minutes till it's tacky. And finally applying the leaf metal. And repeating this process section for section. 

The metal had a harsh shine to it as you can see on the right side of the picture. I toned it down a little with colored gold wax as you can see on the left side of the picture. That gave the added benefit of picking up on all the detailing so I'm more then happy with this finish. Hope you like it too.  

Enjoy creating

Debora

trial & error

This weekend I've been testing making molds with silicons. I want to cast a mirror frame I've carved out of wood. I doubted at the time whether to guild it but decided to leave the wood to be seen. Now I want to cast it and see if I can have a gilded version too.

I'd used plasticine to back up the frame. It sticks it down so it prevents it from floating, and raises it enough to let the silicone runs under just a little. That way the casting needs little cleaning up. I used plaster of Paris to cast. But the combination of an intricate and delicate shape with gypsum as medium proofed to be too much to ask. 

It's too weak & came out broke, but I was pleased to see it showed all the detail in the original frame. So the technique works. All i need to do now is find a way to make the mold it in such a way, that the cast will have more strength and lesser change of breaking. 

In this 2nd setup I've let the plasticine run out from under the frame. This way the mold will have more contend. When poured with plaster all the plasticine you see will be filled with it. Hopefully it will add strength to the frame, but it will mean more clean-up after it's released from the mold. This mold is drying as we speak, so I can work on it tomorrow.

I choose gypsum to cast, cos one of it's characteristics is it takes any paint, unlike polyurethane (which is stronger). The broken pieces are a great way to test the gilding. Gilding benefits from a base color to give it extra depth of shine. I'm using fake gold but the same principal applies to that material too. Not too happy bout how it looks so far (broken pieces with cracked finish :)), but no doubt trial and error will make for a better result. Till then, 

UPDATE:

I've added 25% PVA glue and with the added backing it came out in one piece. Yhippy! but I noticed the glue makes the liquid plaster more viscose, and any air bubbles that are in there are less likely to be able to raise to the surface.  A 3th cast is drying, this time I made sure to fill all nooks and crannies with a brush before topping the mold up. Fingers crossed...

reflections

As promised I've made a video. I must apologize for the color, it looks way too dark. That seems to be the case with You Tube; all the vid's i've uploaded turned out darker. The top picture represents the color the frame has in real life. It's mahogany, finished with two coats of Danish Oil, and on top of that a few coats of good old bees wax, for a subtle satin shine. I thought about gilding it but im not sure... what do your think?

You can get a bigger & better image by clicking again on the video once it starts to run. You should go to You Tube itself then.

Enjoy,

original (mirror) frame

Before I'll show you the finished mirror (yeah! she's done) I thought it would be nice to show you where it derived from.

Daughter Sweet finished primary school this summer. At the age of twelve she's starting Junior Highschool (?) just the other week. Please forgive me if it's the wrong words for these types of schools, but you catch my drift; she was moving on.

They had a Graduation Party to celebrate the End of an Era & the start of a New One... Theme was "Glitter & Glamour". So they arrived in elongated limousines, had too much make-up on and/or over-the-top-dressing and so on.

All was put on film and that's where the mirror came into play; they used a silver plastic rococo frame to take portraits.

I thought it looked like a good piece to try out some of the carvers I'd bought. They turned out to be a great help but too big and not the best of qualities. Victoria gave me a great tip (thanks again here too!) so I've bought a couple of extra from Pfeil, some veiners as small as 0,5 mm and way better quality. They stay sharp for much longer. A pleasure to work with.

Next time, the finished frame.
Till then all the best & enjoy

half way