I have always wanted to get one of my sculptures bronzed so when Laura said I could put up a piece (she said "print" or something) in her booth at the CCA, I decided to get this piece bronzed. I'm doing a limited edition of 7 so the first one will be at the CCA. It was so much fun going thru this process and I still don't exactly understand how every step is done, but I enjoyed it so much I expect to do some more.
I chose The Art Foundry in Sacramento http://www.artfoundryinc.com/. Alan and Meredith were VERY accommodating to get my first piece done. I thoroughly enjoyed myself and have missed being involved with artists. They are wacky and unconventional and that appeals to me. Why be normal? And really, what is normal?
Here is Meredith working on a piece. Bronzing is not a one-step process. She repairs any imperfections before they are finalized for the pouring of the metal. The mold for my piece was done in two pieces and I had to do some work on the profile of the collie, among a few other areas. Signing it was a nightmare and Meredith handed me some very strong glasses that were for someone with a WIDE head so I was trying to sign in wax with one hand and hold the glasses on with the other. Next time I will sign the original, then number the waxes. Live and learn and remember to bring my own glasses. Problem is I like small purses. So I suffer. This is the life of an artist. Suffering for the good of the art.
Here is the bronze getting poured. It's the 3rd piece down.
The original is on the left, the bronze on the right. When I showed up it was being buffed for any imperfections. It looks cool before the patina also.
Here's the buffer guy, or whatever his name was ~ he's holding the foot. My original has seen it's day. It's cracked and not so "white chocolate" like anymore, but it's still useful to everyone who needs to work on the bronze to make sure it's true to the original.
Here is Alan getting ready to do the patina. He's a kick and was making fun of me earlier because I'm anal retentive about certain stuff (not cleaning ceiling fans or behind the nightstands, or the fridge, but about time....) so he called me at 4:50 to remind me of our appointment at 5 pm. I was just around the corner and knew he was messing with me about our "appointment". He made me laugh. He was stellar and I can't wait to get a few more of these done, as we're going to do different patinas on each addition.
The patina is applied with a brush and then a blow torch. The depth of colors are so interesting. I wished I could just try 20 different patinas. I could do this all day long. So much fun.
The bronze is cooled with water, then painted again, torched, watered down. Funna funna!!!
A wax is applied and then buffed. I was advised not to molest the bronze tonight (or sleep with it). The wax needs to set for a while. But you can touch it at Tulsa!
I really loved the work area in the back where Alan does the patinas. It looks like some of the "outdoor spaces" on "House Hunters" that you'd see back East. I asked Alan if any of the bronzes have taken a dive off of the railing. He said not this railing, but the one on the other side of the porch. I'd hate to lose a really big one, because this piece is not big, but it's HEAVY!! He has a piece in the foundry that is about the size of our bathroom. I wanted mine it two weeks. The bathroom sized one took 8 months to finish!
Do I look happy? I think it's the same face I had when I was holding Cardiffness for the first time.
I'm really interested to see what people think in Tulsa. My 2/7 & 3/7 waxes are complete, so I should have 2 more to have patinas done when I get back. I'm going to play with different colors, so that will be fun to see how they turn out.
While I was there, I found a horse piece that was laying around not mounted yet. I've been looking for some horse art for in our living room that we made an inset/shelf. This horse is the piece I want there. I kept telling T that when I saw it I'd know. It's simple and beautiful and has a whitish patina with a splash of pink. Lovely. Can't wait to be the owner of that one. I will blog it!
