Jaw Dropping Sculpture

 Today we visited Bronzesmith in Prescott Valley, AZ. This foundry turn artist's creations into bronze art. 

Kathy was our 

Two Ravens by Preston Singletary  $16,000

Nanabah by Ed Yazzie  $3,400

Ascendance by William Daggett   $7,400

Maxi Moose by Chris Deverill  $2,100

The foundry uses the lost wax method of casting bronze

First a silicon mold is made from the original art

The inside of the mold is coated with wax

The finished hollow wax copy of the original has red wax channels added through which the molten bronze will flow. Next the piece is coated in a slurry that dries to a hard high temperature mold.

Dave is working on part of a limb for the large sculpture below

Dave is also an artist who created the military theme sculptures above.

Here the cast bronze pieces wait for clean up. 

Complex pieces are cast in pieces and then assembled here. 

The bronze is polished

All evidence of the channels that carried the molten bronze are removed

This is the back side of the pieces below

Total whimsy

The final step is creating the patina. Carl’s wide variety of patina finishes have made him a well-known patina artist. Heat and different chemicals are used to create the different patinas. Carl was hired by Bronzesmth right out of high school 29 years ago. He has also become known for his own sculpting and patina paintings.

Carl uses this smaller guide that shows him how the artist wants their piece

finished.

Another amazing day on the road with great Friends