Soap Turtle -Tyler Odachowski

(In Progress Photos)

(Final Carvings)

Soap Changes (Additive and Subtractive)

Step 1-  (Subtractive)

I Took the original turtle and broke it's legs.

Step 2- (Subtractive)

The turtle's body was boiled in water for exactly five minutes, then left to dry for one hour.

Step 3- (Subtractive)

I placed the turtle on its back so I could carve out it's shell.

Step 4- (Additive)

The turtle was coated in three layers of black paint.

(The paint was having a lot of trouble sticking to the soapy surface)

Step 5- (Additive)

I took an orange candle and held held a flame to the wax.  The wax slowly dripped into the hollowed out turtle shell until it was completely filled with candle wax.

Step 6- (Subtractive)

The turtle was cut into slices to reveal the layers of soap and candle wax.

Step 7- (Additive)

Once the turtle was cut into separate pieces, I reattached them using four pins.   

Step 8- (Additive)

A fifth pin was added to the nose of the turtle with two separate black strings threaded through it.  These strings were then tied around the sculpture.

Creating a Base 

To create the final base for the new sculpture, I took a large block of balsa wood and carved it with a Dremel.  After constant carving and sanding, I added a wider base by gluing and pinning an additional piece of balsa wood.  I used black and orange paint to mimic some of the colors seen on the sculpture.  By gradually mixing the paints together, I was able to make a marble like finish to coincide with the marble look of the dried wax. I then took four pins and attached them to both sides of the upper platform (where the sculpture is placed).  Black thread was added from these pins to the base of the platform to continue the angles made by the thread on the sculpture.