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Why Bronze?

Bronze is FOREVER. The casting of bronze started 6 centuries BC when human beings discovered that soft, malleable copper could be mixed with a little bit of tin to created a hybrid compound - malleable like copper but much, much harder and stronger. In modern times, silicone bronze, used almostly exclusively in the USA - the hardest metal alloys next to stainless steel. Silicone bronze in this country is cast for metal parts, especially submarines - where hardness & water resistance are valued . This also makes bronze an ideal material for fine art sculpture.

The Bronze Age really marked a major turning point in civilization. Human beings could either use bronze for destruction (war materials) or for creation (fine art). And in these times - the bronze sculpture of Sadam Hussain symbolized destruction, and bronze sculpture which survived the 9/11 crash in NYC symbolized the enduring ability of beauty to survival.

Bronze alloy - the metal itself is not expensive. Cheaper alloys of bronze are used in other countries and have differing mixtures of copper and tin, and countries like Asia sometimes adding zinc (which in this country is called brass, not bronze). Each alloy differs in strength and water resistance, and the best most enduring bronzes made in this country are cast in silicone bronze. However, the costliness of bronze sculpture is not related to the material itself - it is directly related to the hours and hours of labor inolved in hand sculpting, hand casting, and hand finishing. Creating a Bronze Sculpture is complex, multiple stepped, extremely labor intensive process. From the original sculpture - each limited edition bronze is recreated multiple times.

First creation - the original art work is modeled in clay/wax or other materiall

Third creation - a ceramic shell mold is made around the wax, the wax is melted out (lost) and molten bronze is poured replacing the wax resulting in a bronze casting.

Bronze castings which come from the ceramic shell are not a pretty site - the casting look like raw, unfinished metal. The metal must go through many additional finishing steps to create a beautiful lasting work of art.

STEP 1 - Sculpting the original Work of Art - the original work can be sculpted in a variety of materials including: clay, wax, wood, plaster or other substances.

STEP 2 Making the Mold of the Original: All the detail which appears on the original sculpture must be captured in this mold. The mold (depending on the size of the sculpture) is cut into sections for casting.

STEP 3 Hollow Wax Casting: A hollow wax casting is created with wax which must be the right thickness for the bronze to pour. Every place there is wax will be replaced by molten bronze. The wax should be thick enough for the bronze to flow freely in the molten state, but not excessively thick. If the wax is too thick - it will add unnecessary weight to the sculpture, and may distort or crack.

STEP 4 Chasing the Wax: The wax is pulled from the mold and hand chased (re-detailed). Although the hollow wax is at reproduction the original artwork, each piece is worked by hand and will be slightly different from the next. At this stage, it is even possible to completely change the details and to resculpt the features. However, resculpting wax will take hours of additional work.

STEP 5 Spruing: Wax rods (gates) and pouring cup are attached to the wax casting in just the right positions. These gates act like channels so the wax can be poured out from the next casting.

STEP 6 Creating a Ceramic Shell casting: The hollow wax with its gates and sprues are dipped in a ceramic slurry. This step is repeated several times, each layer builts up the outer levels of the ceramic mold. Between each dip, the ceramic layer must cure (dry) before another layer can be applied.

STEP 7 Wax Burn-Out: The ceramic shell is placed in a kiln and fired. Sometimes an autoclave is used to make sure all the wax is released. In this process, the wax is melted (lost) from the shell. This creates a hollow ceramic shell mold. Thus the term "Lost Wax".

STEP 8 Bronze Casting: The ceramic shell (mold) is heated and immediately the molten bronze is poured into the shell. At the time of pouring, the bronze is molten at 2100' Fahrenheit.

STEP 9 Break-Out: After the casting has cooled, the shell is carefully broken away leaving the unfinished bronze.

STEP 10 Sandblasting: Any fragments of the ceramic shell are removed by sandblasting. The sculpture is also carefully inspected at this point.

STEP 11 Cutting Sprues/gates and assembly: At this time all the sprues and gates are cut off. The pieces of the sculpture are welded together.

STEP 14 Metal Polish: The raw bronze sculpture goes through a metal polishing stage in preparation for the patina.

STEP 15 Patina: The bronze is heated to 300 degress. The patina chemical is hand applied. Multiple patinas require masking of the different areas, and each area must be applied one at a time.

STEP 16 Waxing & polishing: Wax is applied to protect the surface. Additionally, a special metal lacquer may be used to seal the bronze from the elements. This process ensures a beautiful lustrous finish that will, with care withstand the elements of time. After this, a one a year waxing with a carnuba base wax is suggested to keep bronze pieces looking new.