The Lady

So here's another bronze piece that popped out of my head last fall semester. I've always liked making nudes, eve since my first semester in sculpture. The themes of water and fluidity tend to happen in conjunction with them for some reason. I really don't know if she likes that she's melting, or if she's even melting at all, perhaps she's coming into being. I like that about this piece though, it's fluid, and can be interpreted in different ways. 

A snow covered City?

Nope, it's not covered in snow. I just had to take some pictures showing what one of my projects looked like in the cleaning stage, the ceramic/silica(?) shell is still covering it, and let me tell you, it is a beast to get out of all the nooks and crannies. Though once it's done and has had a nice patina applied, it, looks something like this. 

This is a completed city bowl (I know my titles are great aren't they), it weighs about five pounds, is bronze, and fits in the palm of your hand. 

I sculpted each of the buildings by hand from wax, it took a very long time. But I enjoyed it so much I had to do it again, this time with a vase. This one was even more work if possible. I had to pour it in two pieces, otherwise it would not have stood a chance of getting cleaned thoroughly again. 

This one is still in two pieces, I'm thinking about just putting a hinge on it and then it'd have the option of being closed or open. Because that's alot of detail I'd be losing if I just welded it shut. Though at the same time, the idea of having it be a hidden little world, that could be viewed through only little windows is also really appealing...

Piano dress progress!

So the piece is finished! Just only had a little time now to show my work, lol. This is what the skirt looks like finished, it clatters something awful when you wear it, cuz the inside of the keys are wood and all. 

Basically I made to steel rod hoops, one that had the keys on them, and the other that had the other half of the keys laced on in a smaller hoop which hangs inside the first. I wired the tops of the second ring so that it would hook onto the first and thus evenly distribute the keys and I wouldn't have to straighten them out all the time. 

Still requires a bit of straightening, but nice effect over all. :)

Also, here's a sneak peek into part of the bodice, this is the design for an attachment to a plain corset, bring out the strings and soundboard!

I'll post more on it when I actually have better photos of the finished piece.

I'm alive, really.

I can be a slacker sometimes, but only when it comes to things that don't have a deadline. Like this blog for instance. I'm already halfway through the fall semester of my senior year. Where did the summer go? 

Anyhoo, here's a follow up photo of one of the bronze pieces I made last semester, it's done! (and has been for awhile)

In my next few posts, I want to start posting about a few of my video projects and the work that went into them. I made two of them last semester, so it'll give me something to talk about. :)

The Final Stages of a Bronze Sculpture

We're nearing the end of the bronze sculptures posts!

Removing the screws and cleaning off any of the little bubbles of bronze that may have occured during the pour is an important step as it gives the project a cleaner and more professional look. After the bronze is whole and complete and any extraneous pieces have been welded together the patina can be applied.

There were only three patinas made available in class, green, a warmer tone, and an almost black one, by far my favorite is the darkest one. To apply a patina all that is needed is to simply heat the piece and brush on the desired concentration of the patina. Heating the piece gets rid of excess moisture in the metal and allows it to be more receptive the patina.

After the patina looks good a coat of wax helps protect it, and it's ready for display!

Melting Waxes

Tiny post today. The end of the semester is throwing me a loop and keeping me busy. Here's the last step before actually pouring the molten metal into the molds. 

Basically in this step, using a torch, the wax is melted out of the silica casing. One of the concerns in this is very nearly the same concern when attaching screws to the piece. When the wax is melted out, it's important to start from the bottom of the piece and melt the bottom of the piece so that the wax at the top has a place to go. If the bottom of the cup doesn't clear first, then the wax above it won't have anywhere to go and will expand and possibly damage the mold. Always point the torch down, and think through exactly how the wax will melt.

 I've been thinking about posting about video production soon, but at the moment I am far to busy actually putting together my video projects. 

Bronze Pieces Finished!

Bronze figures are officially finished now! I've coated them each with a patina, and some have several different kinds applied to different parts of them.

More wax figures! Below is the concept sketch for my next sculpture. It emerged after a several hours of contemplation on the image of the idealized and stereotypical woman and the restrictions it puts on women. The wax figure (on the left) is going to have several poles going through the body, with several more criss-crossing them locking the figure into place. It's evolved greatly since the original concept, but I like the direction it's going.

Apparently I'm not so hot at keeping this blog up as a regular thing. I do apologize. The semester has begun again and I'm hard at work, this time with much more actual production. I'll be shooting and editing a  screenplay I wrote last semester and making many art projects for my sculpture class.

It occurs to me that I've not really put any of my work up on here, and it might make me think more about the actual production. So how about an art update.

My latest school related project has been inspired by a drawing of a concept. The professor told us to illustrate several descriptive words and we then based a model off of one chosen drawing. I picked the sketch I did for the word "soft." Not such a bad idea, except the materials assigned for the final result are sheets of steel and quarter inch rod. Originally I was stumped with how I was supposed to make something look soft, but I think I may have come across a way to do it.

I will return next time with pictures of my model and drawing, and possibly pictures of the in progress work. Currently I am camera-less and until I can remedy that I don't want to waste time talking about something that a picture could easily explain.