A trip to Colorado to get a sculpture

Don and I took a box truck to Colorado to get the sculpture "Light of Hope and Healing" from Art Castings of Colorado.

First, I needed to look at the sculpture and make sure it didn't need any more chasing. Chasing means that the pattern on the bronze matches the pattern on the original clay, particularly where parts were welded together. Don and I went over the whole piece; we couldn't find anything that needed to be cleaned up. The foundry has an overhead bridge crane, which makes it easy to lift a piece onto a table for work. There is a hole through the table so that work can be safely set on it (with threaded rod fit into nuts welded inside the sculpture).

This is Charlotte; she did the chasing on the sculpture. The work she did couldn't be better.

The light fixture had already been attached before we got there, but it needed a little tweaking. The main issue was fitting the globe to the hand so that there wouldn't be any light bleed. Dan welded the hand to make a better fit to the globe, and Ken attached the light assembly and worked the bronze so that the globe would fit down flat and eliminate light from showing between the hand and globe.

This is Dan, who did the welding on the hand.

This is Ken. He really did an excellent job working out the light with help from John Shimp of Lamp Shades Etc. in Louisville Ky. Ken was the main force for bringing the sculpture together while we were there - great guy to work with.

Chad highlights the sculpture. Because I want a very light patina, he is burnishing the sculpture, so that it will stay a lighter color when the patina is applied.

Nate and Chad apply flame to the sculpture as Nate (in the foreground) applies patina.

Nate applies a clear sealant to the sculpture, which will protect the patina.

Nate and Chad, the patineurs. Fantastic job guys, the piece looks beautiful!

This is Jeanne, she is one I go to for quotes and if I have any questions. She is always quick with a response.

Tony wasn't around when I was getting photos of everybody, so this will have to suffice. He is the manager of Art Castings, making sure the foundry runs smoothly.
We did a dry run at the foundry to make sure every works....
The base was created by Bellcomb Technologies and is a granite laminate over honey-combed panel, with a steel frame inside which supports the sculpture.
...another view of the complete sculpture...


....and a view of how it will look from the stairs at the site.

As we left for home, we saw this view in the mirror.

Bear Modifications and the finishing of the molds

I wanted the hips to be lifting more, to give the movent that I wanted. She is using her back foot to restrain her cub that she is cleaning. I felt that she looked a little heavy at the base, so I colored in the area beneath her shoulders and beneath her hips with lumber crayon. After stepping back and taking pictures, thinking about it, I decided to remove that area.

I used a 4 inch angle grinder and a hammer to remove the stone.

Here she is with the stone removed. I am much happier with the form now.

I have a similar view in the previous post. Here, I have removed the stone between the mother's back paws and have refined the cub and the mother's head. I have carved the mother's left shoulder much farther in, where her left front leg crosses her chest to hold the cub that she is cleaning.

Meanwhile, Don is applying the plaster mother mold to the last of the molds. Soon, they will be packed and shipped to the foundry.

After a thin first layer of plaster is applied, a layer of hemp saturated in plaster is applied to the mold surface. This gives the plaster a great deal of strength.

Additional layers of plaster are added and the form smoothed.

When the plaster is thoroughly dry, it is pried open. The plaster mother mold pieces are carefully set to the side, leaving the rubber coated piece.

The rubber mold is then opened by gently separating a layer of rubber on one side of the shim. An exacto knife is used to cut the little bit of rubber, below the shim, which were the first 2 layers that were applied over the clay.

When that has been done all the way around the piece, you can lift the rubber mold pieces from the clay.

The plaster and rubber molds are then reassembled (without the clay), and labeled. They are now ready to be packed and shipped to the foundry.

Bird n Claws - I thought it was interesting that the branches resemble bird's feet.