The Making of the "Cheese Cow"
This is the story of the Cheese Cow service cart custom made for the # 1 bed & breakfast in the World " The Inn at Little Washington" in Little Washington, Virginia.
Clay sculpture
300 lbs. of clay was used in the creation of the cow. CM Herden had specific size restrictions to work with and because this was to be a functioning Art piece, there were considerations in design for that purpose.
working the clay
A few changes along the way! The original cow had a straight forward look, but the customer requested a turned head to accomidate their kitchen access.
Making the Mold
rubber mold with fiberglass mother mold. Because the Cow was sculpted with much detail, a rubber mold was created to capture that detail in the finished cow.
assembling the Casting
Casting in Fiberglass. The Cow was cast in Fiberglass because it is a functioning Service Cart. It needed to be very strong, durable, and light weight. Once each piece was cast, it was then assembled.
Priming the casting
Sanding and priming were the next step in the long process. This is a very important step. To make sure the cow had a very nice smooth finish, there were a lot of 'fine tuning' steps before she could see her first coat of paint.
Painting the cow Layers of color make up the striking spotted Jersey cow. From primer to top coat, the cow recieved 7 layers of paint. This is how COWS got the Cow to come alive! The shading and details are what make the Cheese Cow.
Finished "Cheese Cow" Finished cow is 36" tall, 58 " long, has wheels in feet and removeble tray on back for service. The original Project took 4 months to complete from origination of the idea, to the deliveray of the Cow.
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