Where Is...

[gemini_chasm]

I am interested in the study (not necessarily academic, but also apprenticeship or other forms of study) of moulding techniques, especially to create sculptures from 'new' materials, like plastics and sillicon, I wonder where (any country - but UK\Australia\US more relevant) could I study this, or what is the best way to go about it for a complete sculpture novice? To what kind of equipment would I need to have access to in general...?
Are there companies who 'mould' for you according to models you make?
Sorry for the numerous questions but I sense the fertile oppurtunities that abound.
My frame of reference is Gamble Staempfli work - http://gamblestaempfli.com/_wsn/page4.html

Many Thanks,
Gemini

[JasonGillespie]

Looking at your example, Gamble Staempfli, it would seem that commercial applications of mold making and castings are what you are interested in...is that right? Much of his work was obviously done to be used in either a retail or commercial format. Here in America there are any number of FX studios that do such work. Hollywood keeps a lot of people working in this field.

The problem would be getting in to it with absolutely no background in sculpture. Unless you have some sort of innate ability, some sort of training is probably a must. (This isn't always the case in fine art) My sculpture professor has worked in movies, and tv, as well as other commercial sculptural applications and says it is far more demanding in terms of skill than the average fine art application of molding/casting. The tolerances for error and overunning time and costs are almost nil in the commercial field. Now there are some good intstructional materials available if you want to work it out on your own, again, that requires a certain amount of working knowledge of sculptural techniques. If you haven't already done so, take a look on the http://www.sculptor.org/ website. They have many resources that might be helpful for you in your search.

Good luck

[gemini_chasm]

Your comment about the 'tolerance' for error and overrunning is very interesting but I am not looking for commercial applications of this knowledge as yet, but rather the technique to produce commercial-looking quality (ie 'slick' design) as shown by Gamble work for Cremaster 3.
I don't have sculpting background but have studied drawing and painting (oils, traditional techniques as well) for a long time.

Yours
Gemini