Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-10-29

in clay image that Is SOLID Drown 10 the
unframed observer and, more than that he
seems to have the faculty of carrying col
ors and markings in his head as some ~peo-
pie carry figures or poetry.
The museum workshop is a queer dusty
little hole filled with mountaineering
plaster molds, twisted tubes of coors and
pots of paint, alf-inished models and
casts. the whole covered with a generous
| layer of plaster of paris, so that a visitor
stands up to talk for fear of carrying
away an impression of the workshop If he
sits on anything. The ears rumble past on
! the tracks outside and locomotives scream
! internationally. The colored population, anu
| there is large colOred population there
about, think the shop is haunted and that
| the young sculptor IS a might doctor.
There is considerable local curiosity about
| his work and doings. but few of his coored
| neighbors ever cross the threshold of the
| shop and most of them take the other side
| of the street if IT is anywhere near sun
down.
| Young Hendley habitually works in over
| alls, with his sleeves rolled up to the ell
| bow. He looks in his working rig much
| like a bricklayer as an artist. But he Is
| really artist, chemist. sculptor and archaeol-
| oglst IN one, for all these things touch
on his problems in turn. He probably Is
| the master of the casting trade in this
| country. Most of his work is done with
| a plaster east a basis. But there are
| dozen different mediums that he has to
| work in at times and good many trade
! secrets have been handed down to him by
| his gifted father. while others he has de-
| veloped himself.
! The mere making of a plaster cast such
| as he has to evolve usually means lot of
| work. one box, decorated with carvings
outside, that he recently had to copy IN
volved the use of mold with ninety-eight
pieces. Some of the casting is even more
intricate than that.
| Recently he has been working almost al
| together on Peruvian pottery, stone images
and religious implements, duplicates of
| which are often exchanged with other mu-
| seums that cannot own the originals and
are glad to have models of them
Take the course of an object that comes
| into the shop to be copied 1t may be a
| stone 'metate" for grinding corn, a piece
| Of pottery from the graves of the 1nCas or
| bit of a bone idol from the northwest
coast. Any one of these requires plaster
! cast as a basis. The model maker first
! makes the mold for the cast. II may be of
! glue, Of paper or Of something else, but 1t
| usually is of plaster. The object has to be
| studied and wherever there is on Ii
| under cut" It means separate bit of the
| mold has to be made to fit into il. Per-
haps the mold has to be made in ten pieces,
! perhaps in hundred. Whatever the num-
| Der. the host of pieces has 10 be fitted to-
gether like a Chinese puzzle and Jacket"
maybe in half dozen pieces also, made
| to fit over the sections of the mold and
! hold them together. Even then the work
| Is only well started.
The interior of the mold has to be shell
| lacked till it is a good sunburned color and
! will not let the plaster cast stick TO it. As
an additional precaution, however. the mold
is also oiled and then 1t Is ready 10 make
the cast. Each new lot of plaster of paris
has different amount of moisture in it
| and takes a different time to harden. This
| has to be determined by experiment. Then
! the plaster is ready to be cast. But it is
not poured into the mold. 1t is laid on
| with brush and spdtula and the two sec
lions of the mold are put together and the
! whole allowed to harden, making al
most perfect hollow cast The cast is, of
| course. covered with fine criss-cross lines.
where the sections of the mold have come
! together But these are smoothed off and
the reproduction is perfect in form.
| Then comes the coloring. Clay. stone
pots blackened by dirt and scorched by
| the fire. ivory images ard implements. each
one with a score of tints in one general
! color scheme all have to be treated in turn
| This is the real artistic work. But it is
not all The knowledge of the chemist has
| to come into play, for good many colors
| while they would combine to make the
right tinst when fresh will gradually oxi-
| die into fresh shades after they have been
| laid on for some time. Thus rattleSnake
| stone used in some of the religious cere-
| monials, might be painted with a ground
work of burnt sienna, of the common
| est of the score of brown paints. The
| green's and reds scarcely noticeable to the
unframed eye, might be laid on and the
whole would be considered fine piece of
work. But it would not last twenty four
! hours and at the end of a week would be
| scarcely recognizable. Chemical incompat-
| Utility would have done its work and the
| artist has to know this beforehand and
| guard against IL. In fact, some of the
| models when their painting 1t finished look
! like mistakes. But the colorS weld in the
| course of a little while and the result Is
| perfect.
But color is not everything. Surface has
| to be put on and If thing is stone 1t has
| like ivory. and if it is dirt and fire stained
| clay IL has to look the part. Pumice
| stone diamond dust and emery are used
TO work down some surfaces and some
| times the model maFer will rub up the dirt
| off the floor wall TO give him just the
| effect he is after.
| Not long ago Mr.. Hendley was given an
| elk bone drill 10 copy. He made model
| and finished it, and when ii was done one
| of the museum officials to whom Il was
| shown refused to believe It was not the
| original till he had cut a nick in 1t and
| found 1t was plaster.
/ Visitors to the National Museum will re-
| member the big stone idol, the serpent god,