I have been able to repair the mold and cast it again. Better, this time…
Fixing the mold…
Successful cast, right out of the mold. Next step is to stain it. Probably in black…
The Keeper II
Casting my latest “Keeper” in cement. Over 6’ tall.
My first cast was almost a complete disaster. My mold exploded under the pressure of the cement. Fortunately, the silicone part of the mold stuck out bt did not tear. My Keeper ended up with a huge belly that I had to carve out.
Exploded mold!….
Savaged cast. After having carved out the big belly, and stained it in black.
Life is Short II
This is my second 6’ tall piece, cast in cement. Its title is “Life is Short”.
Out of the mold and bolted on its base.
After the first layer of acid stain.
The finished piece after a second layer of acid stain and a layer of wax.
Gorgeous for Ever II
Having no more access to the foundry where I used to cast my bronzes because of COVID-19, I started to experiment with cement. Here is how I cast in cement my 6’ tall piece untitled “Gorgeous for Ever”.
I used a small crane to hold the mold vertical. Full of cement it weights close to 150 lbs.
I made this small jig to hold in place the rebar and three coupling nuts which will be imbedded in the cement, so that I can bolt the sculpture on a base.
Removing the mold. Not perfect!… missing the neck!….Glad I had a rebar to hold the head!… I re-created the neck by hand.
Standing on its base. Many defects on the surface. I need to improve my cement mix…
The finished piece with acid stain.
Grand Figures
Taking advantage of all the time available to me thanks to the “Shelter in place”, I finished two large sculptures (6 foot tall) , and made the molds. I am now waiting for the easing of the confinement to get access to a foundry to cast these in bronze. Still a lot of work ahead…
Clay still on its armature.
Making the Silicone mold
Making the mother mold in Epoxy. This makes a rigid shell around the flexible Silicone.
Completed mold. The metal rods contribute to the rigidity of the mold. The mold is hanging from the ceiling ready to “roto-cast” the wax. I’ll pour the liquid wax in the mold, and then move the mold in all directions to slush the wax inside, in order to get a uniform thickness of the wax. This is the theory. In practice I will take me several attempts before success). I am glad that the wax can be re-melted over and over!….
Wax cast from the mold after the third attempt. 10 lbs of wax, which will translate in a 80 lbs bronze.
Bark Series
I am working on a series of bronzes cast from organic burn-outs of pieces of bark.
Instead of using the lost wax process, I took the actual pieces of bark, dipped them into the slurry to build up a ceramic shell around the bark. I then put these in a furnace at high temperature (1800 F) in order to burn the bark (organic burn-out), which leaves their shape into which the melted bronze is poured.
Making of "Rebirth"
"Rebirth". Bronze. 10" diameter, 42 lbs, completed in April 2017
It all started from this older piece...
I discarded a few ideas such as this one....
... before finally coming up with this one
Finished clay work
Cutting the clay into two pieces in order to make the mold
The mold is complete. Four rubber parts and four mother mold parts. The mother mold is holding the rubber mold in place, and is made of hydrocal, which is a kind of plaster.
Brushing the wax in the rubber mold...
Carving "Shy?"
"Shy?". Alabaster stone. 18" high. Completed in June 2017.
I just got a 50 lbs piece of Alabaster. I know what I want to do and draw it on the stone
A few holes with a power drill, and I carve off the coarse outline
The curve of the back begins to appear...
Carving the front...
Carving the neck… big mistake… The head is now too heavy for the narrow neck. The head breaks off… I should have been more careful.Disappointment, but not a surprise…
Starting the sanding...
The finished piece after sanding and waxing, mounted on a ½” thick wooden base.
Front view
Wax Burnout furnace
This is the furnace used to melt the wax in the lost wax process of Bronze making.
The piece is heated up to 1600 to 1800 F.
The piece is heated between 1600 F and 1800 F to melt and burn the wax in the bronze making with the lost-wax process.
Casting "Thinking Out Of The Box" in bronze
in WIP
"Thinking Out Of The Box" in clay. I am going to cast it in bronze.
Making the mold
Recycling the first wax cast after I messed up... (too many defects)
The two parts of the wax before being stitched together
The two parts of the wax cast ready to be stitched together
Gating completed
Dipping in the slurry
After the wax burn-out
Breaking the shell
Raw bronze, after shell removed and the gates cut off.
After many hours of sanding and polishing....
...and finally....it is done (If it is ever...)