• MIN - THE BRONZE POUR

    FOUNDRY BRONZE (LOST WAX METHOD)

    VERSUS

    COLD CAST BRONZE (BRONZE RESIN)

  • WAX STAGE

    FOUNDRY BRONZE: This process involves producing a hollow wax image of the sculpture

  • THE LOST WAX METHOD

    This process involves producing a hollow wax image of the sculpture which is then coated in a thick ceramic layer that is allowed to dry thoroughly.

    In this photo Min is burning the wax way using a blow torch (hence it’s name ‘Lost Was Process’) leaving a ceramic shell into which molten bronze is poured.

  • FOUNDRY BRONZE - SMETLING BRONZE

    First the bronze is melted in a furnace until molten; the molten bronze is roughly 1200 °C. It is then transferred into a crucible, to be transported and poured into our mould.

  • PATINA TIME

    Each Foundry Bronze has it’s unique patina applied once the Bronze has been heated with a blow torch

  • PATINA PROCESS

    PETRA is having a Verdigris Green Patina applied with extreme heat… This process is so important and brings the sculpture to life!

Foundry Bronze Sculpture involves the ‘lost wax process’ that has been used for thousands of years. It is a highly skilled, complex, time and labour intensive process, which causes bronzes to be more expensive. Each edition is totally unique and there is a depth of colour that cannot be achieved in Bronze Resin. The colour improves with age. Foundry Bronze sculptures are much heavier, cold to touch and you can guarantee the sculpture will be around for thousands of years, both inside or out in the elements.

After I have finished my sculpture (in clay), I take it to the Foundry and they make the principle mould (this itself is a detailed process, which I will cover in a blog). Once this has been completed, the Foundry pour melted wax into the mould to produce a hollow wax image of the sculpture (please scroll through the images at the top of the page to see this process). I then inspect each and every wax sculpture to ensure there are no defects or changes. Once I sign off on this inspection, the waxes are then coated in a thick ceramic layer and left to dry thoroughly, which creates a new additional moulds (ceramic shell for each and every one of the edition) that can take the extreme temperature of molten bronze.

The wax is then burned away (hence the name ‘lost wax process’) using a blow torch (see photo of me doing this above), leaving a ceramic shell into which molten bronze is poured. First the bronze is melted in a furnace until molten; the molten bronze is roughly 1200 °C. It is then transferred into a crucible, to be transported and poured into the ceramic shell mould.

Once cooled, the ceramic shell mould is smashed away to reveal the casting in bronze. It is then cleaned and I check the bronze carefully.

Patina Time: I absolutely love the final stage and find it very exciting. The Foundry have expert artists that I work with to ensure that the patination is exactly as I envisaged, giving each sculpture a completely unique finish. The patina is done by heating the bronze with a blow torch and applying the chosen colour patinas. This is then left to cool and wax polished.

Finally the sculpture is mounted onto the chosen plinth.

This process takes up to 14 weeks.

Cold Cast Bronze (Bronze Resin) Sculpture starts off using the same principle mould that is made for the Foundry Bronze sculpture, however the Bronze Resin is made from a mixture of bronze powder and resin and the casting is faster and overall less expensive than casting in bronze. Resin sculptures are generally thinner and lighter, however the method I use to cast my Bronze Resins adds weight, making them heavier and feel more substantial than the usual Bronze Resin sculptures on the market. This makes my Bronze Resin sculptures more comparable in weight to Foundry Bronze sculptures.

This process takes up to 10 weeks.

Cold Cast Bronze Resin sculptures can last a long time if looked after.  These works are frost proof but NOT shatter proof.  In extreme weather conditions they are susceptible to the effects of expansion and contraction which can cause damage. If breakages occur with the Cold Cast Bronze, these can be remediated at cost. Simply get in touch with us and we will provide a quote.