Making Molds of Makkeweks

makkeweks molds1Garrett McLean makes molds of Makkeweks at Berkeley’s Artworks Foundry

I hadn’t realized how attached I had become to the Makkeweks until we took her apart and loaded her up on a flatbed for delivery to Berkeley. The studio seemed suddenly huge and empty, and the sculpture looked kind of sad and nervous on the back of the truck. Moving her was nerve wracking for me too. I had designed the sculpture to break down, and engineered an armature to retain the shape in transit,  but did not know how compressed cork would hold up under the stress of backroads bumps and highway vibration.

makkeweks molds2The underside of the head was the first part of the sculpture to receive molds.

The sculpture survived the journey to Artworks Foundry unharmed, and I immediately set to making final adjustments to the shape and texture. The foundry wasted no time making molds, carefully marking alignments, planning part lines, and cutting the cork pattern into manageable sections. After about a week working on site, we passed final approval with the City of Oakland, and left Makkeweks to be cast in bronze.

To read more about the development of Makkeweks for the City of Oakland, please click here and scroll down.