Silicone Extravaganza FEB- 2001

DAY ONE: Silicone Patching and Finishing workshop

day one kicked off with a really great lecture on patching and finishing silicone. Every attendee was given a small bag of materials that consisted of a cast silicone slab, several bottles of pigment, dry earth colors, Tom’s favorite super solvent D-Limonene, XT-177 ultra fast catalyst, a pair of curved scissors, sand paper, and some small bottles of flocking. Tom immediately jumped into the lecture providing us with different ways to fix our silicone. We were given the task of repairing a tear in a cast silicone piece. This was accomplished by making a slit in one of the cast silicone slabs, and using the XT177 (which is a mighty cool product. The silicone kicked in a matter of minutes!) and some tin cure silicone we patched up the tear with amazing results. Those things wouldn’t rip again if the ghost of Lon Chaney himself commanded it! (well... maybe for him. heh) We took a short break, and then it was on to the next phase of the class. Learning to trim, and sand down your silicone pieces. Its quite amazing how easily silicone will bend to your every whim with a little help from scissors, and some sandpaper of varying degrees. (I understand that the factor 2 has some dremel bits specifically for cutting silicone down. I may pick them up to play) Now that we knew how to repair the silicone, and sand down the seams... what's left? Well... finishing it of course. This was a neat little part of the lecture. Using silicone caulking thinned down with D-Limonene, and kicking it with the XT-177 (which sounds like some type of super weapon from a James Bond flick) we were able to add all sorts of refinements to our finished pieces, from subtle skin textures, to deep wrinkles, "anything goes" was the name of the game. (If memory serves me correctly, I believe that one person used a coin to add some really weird sort of wrinkly texture to his piece.) We left our creations to dry overnight, and eagerly awaited day two.

DAY TWO: Silicone Coloration and Painting Workshop

Our second day of silicone adventures began with a lifecast. Not of heads, but a GI1000 mold of our hands. (Again kicked into high gear with XT-177) when this was properly cured Tom made believers out of all of us with the wonders of a simple soap release. I had trouble believing it myself that a little soap and water will keep silicone from sticking to silicone. (He also shared a wonderful anecdote to emphasize the importance of using the proper release. It had to do with a well known movie about a pig, a fiberglass mold, and why we don’t use silicone fluid to clean out a mold that silicone will be cast up in.) After a short lunch break, we mixed up some very light flesh colors (using the earth tones, plus a bit of flocking for added color depth) and added them to uncured translucent GI1000, mixed in some ultra fast catalyst and cast up positives of our hands. When we demolded those pieces, it was time to mix up some additional paint colors to add a little more life to the hands. (Though many of the people opted to do some wild coloration, I saw a few green hands, and I think one blue. Mine ended looking like something that was chewed up by a dog, and then cast away in a river somewhere. heh) There was lots of info covered that day, and everybody walked away knowing MUCH MUCH MORE then they had known several hours before.

Day 3 Silicone Arts Seminar

Our final day of classes was Tom’s amazing "Silicone Arts" overview. This was an almost maddening amount of information. There was SO much covered, that I taped his talk. I actually couldn’t keep up with taking notes. If you don’t already have a copy of Tom’s book Silicone Arts I would suggest that you order a copy. ANYTHING that you would need to know about working with these amazing materials is covered in that text. Tom is working on a new expanded edition that may include pictures, and even more information then before.

(I know when I finally got my copy I spent a good chunk of an evening reading it and taking notes. Only to find that upon rereading sections I had actually missed some bits of information) This day included many more touchy feely samples, and information on using diffusion colors, tricks with glow in the dark paints, and some interesting new products that will keep your creative juices flowing. Tom has said that he would really like to do another of these in the fall. I would suggest saving your pennies NOW, because you won’t be disappointed!

For information on Tom’s Silicone Arts book, or seminars write to him at:

Tom McLaughlin Productions

14331 Ventura Blvd. #192

Sherman Oaks, CA

--aRvin Clay