THE STEPS OF CREATION

STEP 1

The skeleton frame is formed with wood,  wire and Styrofoam.

STEP 2

The frame is preliminarily shaped with Styrofoam balls in the form of the sculpture and then covered with chicken wire.

STEP 3

A layer of clay is applied to the sculpture and some initial detail is carved.

STEP 4

More clay is added to the sculpture and finer shapes are formed.

STEP 5

When the sculpture in clay is finalized, a rubber mold is taken. Following the rubber mold, wax is poured in the mold and an exact replica of the original clay sculpture is formed. Then the wax sculpture is submerged in a ceramic liquid which creates a fire proof shell.  Once the shell solidifies, it is put in an oven to bake the wax out of the shell mold. That's were the "lost wax process" name came from.

STEP 6

Immediately after the molds come out of the furnace they are placed in sand and the bronze is poured into the ceramic shell mold.  After the bronze has cooled,  the ceramic molds are chipped away from the bronze. The final cleaning and shaping is done with fine rotary tools and a sandblaster. Patina is applied with heat and chemicals to add different colours within the bronze.