Wax Pattern Chased and Ready to Cast!

Yesterday, I spent the afternoon chasing (touching up) the wax casting of the "Yma" sculpture. The foundry casts the wax pattern using a dark brown wax that is quite durable. To resculpt or smooth certain areas I also used a softer red wax and for filling in air bubbles, a very soft white wax which you can see in the photos which Kevin the foundry owner kindly took for me. The arms don't need to be reattached as they will be cast separately.
In the background, you can see the mold. It was made in several pieces using a high quality silicone rubber on the inside, with a plaster shell for support.

Next, the foundry will cut her in half (again!) so that the bronze will be hollow, attach sprues and do about 12 to 15 coats of ceramic investment. Hopefully, we'll be able to pour the metal by next Friday.

Welcome Class of 2013!

Welcome Freshmen! If you found my blog, you are probably wondering who is this person who will be teaching you Art History and drawing. Since I am generally an obliging sort of person I thought I'd satisfy your curiosity with a few images of my work:

Latest sculpture now at the foundry

I was very happy last week to finish my latest sculpture and take her to the foundry in Tacoma to be cast in bronze.  For those of you wondering why the hands are dark in the photo, it is because they are made with brown plasticene (oil based clay) rather than "vashon white" water clay like the rest of the sculpture.  Hands on a 20 inch figure are just too fragile for water clay and will inevitably dry out, crack and lose fingers before the rest of the body is "leather hard" which is the necessary consistency for mold making. The clay should not be so damp that the brush will damage it as you apply the silicone rubber, but if it's too dry it will crack, shrink and distort. The foundry's mold maker should be finished in another week at the latest an then they will cast a wax copy of the sculpture out of it.