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Patina Time w/Rosemary Rednour of Polich-Tallix Foundry
Scaling the Base
Measuring. Measuring again...was it 17 and a half, or 18? I had arrived at the foundry thinking cylinder but returned 4 hours and 3 arguments later to my studio with a trapezoidal shape in mind. Pictured here: Brad Conklin of Polich-Tallix (side note: Brad is a master wood sculptor and jack-of-zillion-trades, so I often seek his opinion & expertise). Alas, Peter Ross (also of PTX and possessing of a font of experience & practical know-how-it-all) officially won the unofficial "what base shape?" contest. Cylinder, schmilinder. Thanks Pete!
I cobbled this wooden base together with scrap wood at my studio, even going so far as to lather on a faux patina to double check the scale against my bronze sculpture. It will be fabricated in bronze next week and eventually surfaced with a REAL, stunning patina.
See that tiny little black magic-marker circle? There are a few more of those just out of sight. They mark the final spot-welds I need welded-up and chased. After that, we'll crane-walk it into the patina room!
Homemade Ice-cream + Dave's 400 Grit Electric Champagne Punch?
Chasing Bronze
ACROBAT is Bronze! Now let's see how long it takes me to polish it smooth...
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This Spring add some Zing to your: lunchbox, skateboard, dumbphone, notebook, litterbox, birdcage, briefcase, suitcase, tacklebox, grandma, sewing machine, guitar amp, forehead, harmonica case, water bottle, learjet, jet ski, wait…you have a jet ski? Put a sticker on it!
Available exclusively from the Gift Shop @ Sculpturezoo.com.
Sculpturezoo.com is my crowdfunding effort to raise a massive bronze sculpture above Tribeca concrete for NYC Parks'/Art in the Parks by summer, 2017.
Going Bonkerdoodles Today in the Wax Room, w/Pete & Repeat
It’s no secret I hate wax. I should replace hate with loathe. Despise? Maybe detest is better. Except that sounds too academic. Oh, I #^%@&*^ wax!
Chasing, in case you're wondering, is the innocuous term for smoothing out every single unsightly nick and scratch of a wax prototype, and filling any untoward dips and undulations that deviate from or threaten the integrity of the original sculpture. Any imperfection undetected during this stage will show up in bronze, where the labor to rectify it is increased by a factor of 3. Hence the endless mind-numbing pursuit for flaws in the wax. Since the material is inherently soft, repairing one side of a form invariably nicks the opposite side. Pete & Repeat ad nauseum.
The tedious, interminable, agonizing wax stage is a necessary phase of bronze casting. To get through it I take constant breaks. For water. Coffee. M & M’s. I read inane celebrity news. I hang from the rafters. And blame my apathy & indolence on undiagnosed ADHD.
But I'm almost done! Next week we’ll weld up “Acrobat” to set the mounting angle, and cut it back up into 4 sections for final gating to prep for casting. Wax, schmax. Grinding, filing & polishing bronze? That’s The Part I am Looking Forward To!!!!!! I think it’s safe to say everyone in Polich-Tallix’s wax room is looking forward to that too.
Acrobat, wax prototype, 7'3", by Dave Stevenson, Polich-Tallix Foundry