Dear Art Lover,
I returned to the foundry in Pietrasanta
recently, but it meant an early rise for me!
Hhaha… still, it was a beautiful sunrise and the light was pretty to see
the dawn while the lights of the faraway village were still on.
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| Another reason to NOT smoke! |
When I entered the wax room, the first thing I saw was the bottom section of my sculpture "Rock Towers and Frogs." It was floating upside down in a tub of water with wax parts from other sculptures.
You may see it here reinforced on the underside with bamboo. I always think that water is a brilliant storage method for the waxes. It helps normalize the temperature, so less risk of the wax melting or becoming too brittle. Water is soft enough to never damage the wax or mix with it. And it can accommodate a sculpture of any shape or size, supporting all parts equally.
The choice to use bamboo as reinforcement
is important because the next step is to dip each sprued sculpture part into at
least six layers of a ceramic shell slurry.
This takes several days since each coat must be dry before being dipped
into the next. Once the dipping done and
the layers thoroughly dry, the ensemble will be cooked in a furnace, firing the
ceramic mold while melting out all of the contents. That is why this is called the “Lost Wax
Process” and why any material MUST be destroyed by fire, leaving very little
inside. Bamboo is rigid and strong, but
burns away! Bamboo, newspaper, wooden
toothpicks, wooden skewer sticks (for shish-kabob), etc. are some of the
materials used to support the wax when needed.
Not all sculptures require this,
but it helps creativity to know what is available or what are feasible options
around potential complications, no?
My future bronze sculpture in wax - upside down in water!
And now, right side up on a table-ready for proofing!
Here Raymondo has removed my sculpture
bottom part for my lookover and approval.
He has already chased (cleaned up) the wax and the piece is ready to be
sprued. That means it wlll be connected
to a wax funnel and connecting and venting (wax) lines whose placement is
determined by the inevitable flow of molten bronze.
Each foundry works in a different way and
you might imagine there is never only one way to cast a composition into
bronze. I used to be a production
manager for the neg/pos department of a commercial photo lab, until I moved
into image preservation. I learned from
my study of mathematics and enhanced in the lab the idea that if you can
understand the process and plan for it, you may avoid many hurdles along the
way. I also learned to trust people to
do what they do best.
So, this last image I share with you shows
Raymondo and Fabio studying the photo of my original composition in clay, wax,
and foam. Fabio works in the bronze part
of the production. I deferred to their
judgment, which was to cast the remaining ten stones separately. Earlier we had thought to mold them separately,
but weld them together in wax, since working in wax is MUCH easier than working
in metal. But they decided the safer
thing would be to receive good parts in bronze and then we will arrange the
stones into the towers that were in my original composition. And then weld and possibly drill a hole for a
future fountain.
Remember, I am offering a pre-casting
discount on the price of this piece if you place your order before 1 November
2016. This copy in the edition has been
sold, but I will send you progress pictures of your sculpture being made, just
as I am here. In the case of a “future”
artwork, we work out a payment plan that works for you and the casting process,
meaning that after the initial payment, you pay installations based on the progress
of the work, paying in full before the sculpture is shipped to you. I have sold
many bronze sculptures in this way and am grateful to those who can envision
the finished bronze when all they have seen is clay or wax!
Thank you for your interest.
Peace,
Kelly
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| Consulting on the Best way to Cast THIS bronze sculpture |
2 comments:
A bunch of work, eh? Foundries do art as well. We saw some of our friends when they were vented and ready to go. A very interesting process. Yahoo on the progress!
Yes, in my experiences, many people who work in foundries are actually artists who not only want to create sculpture every day, but also receive good prices on bronzes of their own designs (because they are in a position to use the equipment and work after hours in the foundry).
Each sculpture has its unique form and problems and therefore each one must be considered for its shape and thicknesses for casting into metal. Nary a dull moment!
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