Sculpture Pour

Last semester was both tough and exciting. I took a 300 level sculpture class with Francis Fox at Boise State University and experienced from start to finish what it is like to create bronze sculpture (small scale of course). It all starts with a wax carving, then comes the 7 dips into the slip and the silica with 6 hours of drying time in between, this creates a hard shell around the outisde of the wax. That shell is then baked in a large kiln, the wax melts out and the shell hardens. We then get to check for cracks and do any repairs to the shell before t

he bronze pour. Next we get to strap the shells onto a cage and while those heat up in the kiln, the metal is heating to a certain melting temperature. Once we have reached that temperature, the cage comes out and the hot bronze is poured into the cavity of teh shells. Once cooled, the shell is broken away and voila you have your bronze sculpture. Then of course there are the finishing touches. But that is it in a nutshell. Sounds easy right . . . . not! Here are some pics.