Part Six of my series on Reproducing a Victorian Tile

Here we are at part six of a ten part series on reproducing a Victorian tile, and I have to admit this is the best part as far as I'm concerned. I'm now ready to work on the shape, texture and details of the tile.

Using the original tile as a guide I begin to shape the details and depth of the pattern.

I keep the original tile close at hand and reference it often to stay as true as possible to the flow of the pattern.

I use one of my small round tipped tools to soften the edges of the leaves.

I use the flat edged tools to level the background and smooth away any lines created from my first tracing.

The large rounded tools help me create the sculpted petals and leaves. I also use them to smooth edges.

The larger flat edged tools are used to finish the background areas of the wax.

Here's the finished wax. One detail I forgot to photograph, which stands out in this photo is how I fix or touch up areas that I want to change after carving. I use one of my small scoop shaped tools that has some wax in it, and heat it over a small candle flame. Then I lay the metal on top of the part I need to re-carve and let the hot wax melt onto the surface. The black areas of the wax show where the carbon from the edge of the scoop tool filled in with hot wax. I then let the wax cool for a few minutes and re-carve the details.

Next I'll show the pouring of the plaster mould.