Emily MacDonald-Korth follows up:

 

Dear Groop,

 

I had an interesting project where I reproduced 3 dimensional wall

covering called lincrusta.  I asked the all-knowing Groop for some

ideas on the theoretical process and our good friend Don Williams

got in touch with some great advice.  Thanks to Don, I learned how

to cast with acrylic gel.

 

It went like this: I took a silicone mold of the existing wall covering

and supported it with fiberglass reinforced Hydrocal plaster.  Then,

to cast, I applied vaseline to the silicone mold, brushed on a very

thick layer of Liquitex Gel Medium on the surface of a muslin sheet,

then laid the sheet face-down on the mold, applied gentle pressure

with hands, then gently rolled a brayer over the surface, then let dry. 

I cleaned them, primed them and installed them with clay based

wallpaper paste.

 

I have included some pictures of the work- a picture of the silicone

mold, one of a casted sheet, one of a casted sheet with paint to show

texture and depth, one of an installed patch of lincrusta and a before

and after of an area with newly fabricated lincrusta- also showing the

antique gold faux finishing I applied.

 

One of the best aspects of the materials I used was the ease of

cutting.  Some of the areas to be patched with my new lincrusta

sheets were complicated shapes, and with some mylar, a sharpey and

graphite paper I was able to lay down the design and slice up the

new lincrusta into the exact shape neccessary with nothing but an

exacto knife.

 

This was a great project and Don was such a help!

Emily MacDonald-Korth,
NYC