Capturing the sketch or vision for clients' Bronze sculpture can be an exciting and unique experience. As the beginning phase of bringing to fruition what the client has always imagined for themselves, and now we witness their dream come true. A sketch contains much more than a simple image, it holds the memory of what inspired them, from visions handed down from generations before. Even if it’s as small as a sketch provided for guidance, keeping this sketch alive is vital in order to make sure every detail is accounted for throughout the entire process. So sketch provides the road-map towards making that dream sculpture become reality.
Working on clay for a Bronze sculpture is often a two-step process that begins with sculpting a foam outline. then apply an no-drying oil-based clay to the foam in order to create the finished product. This clay allows artisans to add the maximum amount of detail necessary to capture realistic expressions and details and bring life-like vibrancy to the sculpture.
For smaller sculptures, instead of using this two-step procedure, workers sketch out a scaled down version as a model figurine– that follows the larger design but does not need foam for its foundation. In this way clay sculpting gives flexibility in capturing one’s vision and conveying it into a tangible form.
The mold making process is essential for creating bronze sculptures. To begin, an artist must create an original model from wax or clay. After that, mold making begins by encapsulating the mold in either a fiberglass or plaster case, also known as a mother mold, which provides extra support for the flexible mold material and can be kept as a mold template to refer back to for creating multiple copies of that particular sculpture.
Wax pouring is an essential stage of the wax-based casting process. The wax is melted and poured into the interior of the mold, where it takes the shape of the form and hardens. Additionally, wax pouring serves dual purposes: firstly, a wax pattern of exact size, shape and detail is created which can be modified as desired until finalized. Secondly, it forms a protective layer inside the mold, increases surface smoothness and prevents any sharp edges caused by small imperfections in the mold’s inner walls. As wax has superior wax liquidity compared to metal, wax pouring can increase intricate designs too.
