Gypsum figures: for garden, for drawing

Figures and bas-reliefs from gypsum for decoration of buildings were invented not by our contemporaries. This durable and environmentally friendly material is decorated with facades of many ancient buildings. Acquaintance with the basics of painting traditionally begins with the drawing of various objects and figures from gypsum.

Why should the plaster figures for drawing be white?

In the course of teaching painting necessarily includes an image of three-dimensional geometric objects. These can be pyramids and spheres, cylinders and cubes, cones and prisms. Such items can be glued from paper, take ready jars or boxes, cast from alabaster. Dimensions are practically irrelevant, only one thing is important: all these items must be of a white matte color.

Such a condition makes it possible to better study the laws of light and shade, to learn how to construct general proportions. In the future, these skills will be useful when depicting human faces and bodies.

The gypsum head is a rather complex object. To go to this stage, students of art schools are trained in drawing geometric figures. Excellent for this purpose, three-dimensional objects from white alabaster - from gypsum.

It is a natural, absolutely eco-friendly material with a soft texture. Powder of fine grinding with water dilution very quickly freezes.

Gypsum figures for the garden

The task of both park and garden sculptures is the revival of the landscape, a harmonious combination with the general style of the surrounding greenery and flower beds. When choosing the place where gypsum figures will be located, it is necessary to take into account some simple rules:

• Sculptures should fit organically into the style of the garden;
• A large number of gnomes or fairies can complicate the perception of the overall picture and spoil everything;
• For the design in the classical style will be appropriate decorations from more solid materials such as wood, marble or bronze;
• For a natural landscape suitable small, not immediately noticeable sculptures.

Who invented the garden figures?

In medieval fairy tales it is told that gnomes are miners, gold miners and skilled, hardworking blacksmiths living underground, inside the mountains. Small bearded men in hats-caps are good and evil. How did these mythical characters move into parks?

The story is this: one day one of the German master ceramists got lost in the forest more often. Trying to find his way home, he wandered into the tunnel of miners. The workers helped the man out of the forest. One of them presented for memory his red cap, which protects his head from blows against stones while working in a cave.

This incident affected the master so much that he started making gypsum garden figures: cheerful and kind bearded dwarves with red caps on their heads. Colorful sculpture very quickly fell in love with his compatriots, as well as visiting tourists.

Such decorations for household plots were, then went out of fashion. The gardens were inhabited not only by gnomes, but also by fairies, birds, flowers or mushrooms. Yes, and used to make figures not only ceramics. Currently, sculptures of the following materials are popular:

• Calcined clay;
• Stones of unusual shape;
• Assembly building foam;
• Old tree trunks;
• Plaster figures;
• Other natural and artificial raw materials.

Excellent preserved, withstood the time and bad weather

To ensure that the plaster figures do not lose their color and integrity, you need to look after them in a certain way. First of all, you can not install a sculpture on an open ground. From the moisture its base can suffer. It is best to put a gnome on a stone or wooden stand. To protect the statue from overturning, it is best to attach it to the stand with PVA glue or sealant. To keep the top painted surface, the figures are covered once a year with a colorless varnish. For the winter period, sculptures can be removed to a closed room or simply covered with a film, tightly securing it with adhesive tape.

To clean the white shapes (such as the plaster head) from dust and accidental contamination, you can cover them with a thick layer of thickly-brewed starch, wrap it with cotton and leave it for a few hours. After removing cotton wool, the surface of the figure will be cleaned of dirt and will turn white again.