The use of this material is actually fun. I enjoyed presenting space-age mud and wattle to a small class for eleven-year-olds so they could experiment with the material and use it to explore their imaginations. We covered most of what in this chapter, as well as a very brief introduction to the social aspects of the human necessity for shelter and sanitation included in the other ferrocement.com manuals.
The children were interested to examine the example armatures of septic and water tanks at the ferrocement.com work yard and by the concept that this sculptural material can also be used to construct homes for and by people who are either too poor to have a home or have lost their homes in a disaster. This direction of thought was also helpful for overcoming too high expectations of sculptural result and simply experimenting with the feel of a plastic media suitable for many purposes.
I was kept quite busy mixing and cleaning the tools as the children worked on their sculpture projects. They used the small wire brush once or twice to clean their pallet knifes but quickly settled into the tactile pleasure of using gloved hands. Small kitchen gloves worked quite well but I should have had a few extra pair for those who smeared a little material inside the cuff and then ended up filling a glove with water while cleaning the glove.
Some learned very quickly that the cement and latex mixture absorbs into fabric and fiber and becomes unworkable, others were slightly perplexed but also caught on to the idea that a little more slippery cement and latex suddenly made the entire piece workable and fun.
If one considers this as part of class project with young children, keep in mind that cement is too caustic for even one moment of unruly behavior. My impression is that the children enjoyed the experiment but the material is a bit serious for grammar school level. The small group of highly motivated young students I was with did well but there could be class strains if too many are present.
Cleaning tools and gloves is a continuous process when working with plaster of any type. Gloves are easily kept clean by dipping the hands in water and washing them just as one does with bare hands.
Trowels and pallet knifes are cleaned periodically with a small, fine steel wire brush, scissors are kept cleaned the same way. If a film of material builds up on steel as working days go by, especially scissors, it is easy to use a knife blade to clean the steel blade and remove any build-up. Use the pallet knifes to clean each other in water if there are thick areas the brush fails to clean.
Material being applied to the work will usually be used to clean the container but there are times when some material remains unused. A small scrap of newspaper will clean the mixing container if some material is left over. Newspaper is preferable to a water rinse because it is easier to dispose of than the large quantity of dirty water generated by cleaning the mixing container with water.
Wax paper or plastic stapled to a plywood work board provides protection for the plywood and helps keep the mixture from drying too rapidly.
Sculptural work resumed when the running figure has cured enough to assume that the leg is sufficiently strong to support the figure and to continue with application of more material; cement and acrylic plus hemp fibers trimmed to convenient length. Work began again starting with the left foot.
The figure is so strong that it proved unnecessary to work down the right leg and save the right foot connection for last. The right foot was reinforced and then the right leg, as soon as the left leg was complete. Movement was no problem at all, the strings are removed for application of material to the upper body after four days for additional cure of the legs. Sculptural strength far exceeds what was predicted and worried about. Attention was given to long fibers running fom the base up into the leg and that may prove helpful in the long run, the right foot shows no indication of weakness or flex during sculptural work.
The object of this sculpture is to explore the strength of the mixture so that it can be known exactly how far the sculptor can go before encountering strength limits. The material I call space-age mud and wattle is very strong and fun to work with. Keep in mind that cement hardens rapidly on hot days, mix smaller quantities on hot days.
Course carpenterÕs wood files work very well for shaping between layers and building up to the final dimensions. A finish of pure cement and acrylic without any fiber may be burnished with fine grain sand paper. Colors may be applied by mixing acrylic paints with either white or grey cement. Additional water is required to thin the acrylic paints purchased in art stores, some masonÕs supply stores sell colored acrylic with water already added to the proper consistancy for mixing with pure cement or cement and fiber.
