For the human part of the mermaid, I start with aluminum foil and hot glue. Aluminum foil is one of the best and fastest ways to sculpt really large pieces. It is possible to bulk out the human form in a few hours. Simply crumple the foil in a way that leaves the most entrapped air, then glue it to the cardboard. Build the figure slightly larger than you want. Then, using a rubber mallet, tap the surface to the correct dimensions. The crushed surface can hold a lot of weight.

My hot glue gun, the 3-M Scotch-Weld Hot Melt Applicator TC, goes for about $100 and is well worth it. I’ve burned up seven ordinary $25 glue guns in the past two years. This orange beast can effortlessly put out several pounds of glue a minute. It requires special shaped glue sticks available in 11-lb boxes. You can find great deals on the web.

Three more photos of the foiled sculpture (and my apartment) after the jump.

The foil is filling up my cross-sections quickly.

The rough harp is made of MDF and is good for placement. I will make a much prettier one later.

The fish body is covered with two thin layers of foil. I’ve pounded the body down very close to her final size. As you can see, it is easy to get a quick sense of the mass in foil. Even after adding the clay, I can still whack the surface with a mallet to shape the underlying foil.

Foiling nearly complete. You can see the arms on the floor.

There’s the rest of my studio apartment. My live/work studio is 17 feet wide by 42 feet long. The brightly colored furniture occupies the 12-foot area that is my home. The silk fins that grace the mermaid’s sides will be the same width as the studio.