Understanding and being in love with the materials of ones craft is a natural and delightful part of the artistic process. I strive to appreciate the materials I am sculpting with, and enhance the beauty of those materials.
In bronze casting, clay or wax is used to develop a sculpture. This is a very tactile use of medium, with much yin and yang between the addition and subtraction of material. Pieces are first sculpted in clay/wax. Knowing the piece will be cast in bronze, areas might be left rough so as to show the work of the artist’s hand. The final piece is always in the mind, considering how it might be patinated. Using the lost wax process links the artist to an ancient method of casting. Works are encased in a mold and a hollow wax is poured; next a porcelain mold is made which will receive the molten bronze as the wax melts out. Afterwards the patina is applied. The patination process is itself an art form. As a piece is heated with a torch, various chemicals are applied to the sculpture at different temperatures to achieve the desired finished color.