In bloom

This instrument will have a soundboard rose. The rose is an optional decoration with no definitive acoustical properties, but it has been part of Flemish harpsichords for centuries, and I figure the great builders of the past wouldn't have bothered with it if it didn't enhance the sound in some way. The first step in creating a rose is to make a template. I used an existing rose with a standard angel-playing-a-harp figure and added my initials, SR, which I made from modeling clay. I set the whole thing on a solid backing made from the same clay and prepared to make a negative, or mold, from which I could make additional roses. I set the master inside a wooden frame about 1 inch high, like so:



Then I mixed up the mold material, which looked like blue goop and had the consistency of toothpaste.



I poured the blue goop into the wooden frame, where it slowly settled into place.



The goop took a day to cure, and when I unclamped the wooden frame it was a perfect negative of the rose shape.



I mixed up the rose casting material and poured it into the mold:



The casting material takes only about 20 minutes to cure, so I made several roses. I'll pick the best one and install it in the soundboard, where at some point in the future I'll gild it with gold leaf.