Egyptian Foam Sculpture

By Yvonne Palermo

From DIY’s “Craft Lab,” Guest Yvonne Palermo proves how fun and easy it is to create foam sculptures. Here’s how she made a one-of-a-kind foam Egyptian sculpture:

The project begins by first tracing an image projected onto the foam by using an overhead projector, eliminating any free hand drawing. Once the image is lightly traced with a fine point black marker, Yvonne and Jennifer demonstrate how to create a “bas relief” effect with an electric hot wire foam carving tool from Hot Wire Foam Factory.

   A heat gun was used on the surface and edges of the foam to enhance the aging effect all over the exterior of the project. The small burn effects break up the smooth texture of the foam and make it look more like natural stone. Once the project has been aged using a heat gun, Jennifer demonstrates how to begin coating the project using acrylic paints to create a yellow base wash to the background of the entire “stone slab.” Finish painting with acrylic paint in other colors and let dry.