BRONZE SCULPTURE

Following a booked year of bronze commission with strict parameters and budgets, I found myself needing to create something "free spirited", and more indicative of the wild movement I often depict in my sculpture.   This sculpture is a mare, in the middle of a change of attention and direction.  At the time I was sculpting the clay original, I had two young horses on my farm and as I watched and photographed them daily, I ended up with some spectacular shots of twists and turns in mid air.  

The result was this award winning piece which is a very unusual composition!

When I do my tabletop size sculpture, I start out with either oil based or water based clay.  Following that, a mold is made and wax is poured into the rubber mold and back out again, making a hollow replica of the sculpture.  The wax usually needs a lot of cleaning up, and, of course, I end up re-sculpting areas.  I present the wax sculpture to the foundry for the bronze casting process.  This involves another shell mold, the bronze pour, welding, and metal chasing.  I usually take over the metal work, ensuring that none of my detail is damaged during the metal finishing.  I also do the patina.  I stick with layers of translucent color, rather than the solid dark bronze traditional color.  "Unhinged" has a ferric nitrate patina, using a "stippling" effect.  I heat the metal to the perfect temperature, and dab ringlets of the chemical, followed by another flash with the torch, making a lacy overlapping pattern over the piece.  This way I can layer the colors to allow more of the natural golden bronze to show through.  This patina is only good for indoor pieces.