Portrait Busts -- an original technique

Step 2 Packing the Mold Halves with Aluminum Foil

I like to line the mold with one or two layers of aluminum foil, like a skin, before packing it with more randomly crumpled aluminum foil.  That gives a fairly smooth surface for the first layer of grout to stick to, and gives the core more structural integrity than it would have without the skin.

Since aluminum foil doesn't stretch, it will tear if you force it into the recesses of the mold.  Tearing of the skin layer is avoided by first crumpling the aluminum foil to create a quilted pattern of wrinkles.  That shrinks the area covered by the foil, but allows the foil to stretch out again without tearing as it is pushed into the mold. 

I use a ball on a stick as a tool to help push the foil into the mold.  Leave some excess skin hanging over the edge of the mold.  It will be folded back over the crumpled foil in the middle to help hold it in place.

I usually fold up a pleated strip of foil and put it through the neck area to give the neck more strength when it is bent later. 

Fill the skin with crumpled foil, fold over the skirt around the edge onto it and remove the core half from the mold.