Here the crucible...red hot and full of liquid bronze is very very very carefully being removed from the furnace.
More photos of bronze process. Here I'm breaking the mold away from the bronze ....but bronze is still very hot...too hot to pick up with those leather gloves ...hence all the gear
More photos of bronze process...Here I'm working on the bronze version of "Educational Fart" I'm about to weld the rabbit holding his umbrella to the piece
More photos of bronze process. Here the hot bronze is being poured into the hot molds in the sand pit... takes a lot of teamwork and communication to keep everybody safe and to not loose any molds! the two on the left are doing the pouring the two on the right have steel rods used to insure the molds stay upright during the pour ...we may have a half dozen to 10 people helping with the pour and we'll do some twenty molds in an afternoon or evening ....always lots of onlookers with cameras too...I usually work the burnout kiln.
More photos of bronze process. Welding on the rabbit of "Educational Fart/
Finally as promised I am putting up photos of a bronze process
Finally as promised I am putting up photos of a bronze process ...Here I and others are removing the hot molds from the burn out kiln... I'm one of the silver clad. this photo was of a night pour...hence the great light. This is really hot work our double asbestos and leather gloves are smoking afterwards...
Finally as promised I am putting up photos of a bronze process. Here I am geared up for a bronze pour
Finally as promised I am putting up photos of a bronze process. Here I'm removing hot molds from the burnout kiln to place them in the sand pit so that the bronze can be poured into them...very hot work.... I'm wearing one pair of gloves and using another pair like hot pads... and still I could really feel the heat...actually at the end I had to through the smoking pair of hotpad gloves on the ground and stomp on them...hence the very heavy head and upper body protection
Finally as promised I am putting up photos of a bronze process...Tom taking precautions
This is another bronze in the Empty JESTture series... Another supportive JESTure that can't support itself ...in my mind he's sort of JABBA the HUTish.. at least that's what was jumping around the brain when his wormish body. appeared .. He's hollow, with holes where his spine and arms shoulc be... but he's full of it -- see the bull in one of the gesturing hat hands, all while he wishes us peace and make the ok / approval sign. The rabbit is not in a good place; I'd move if I were he or am I he? If the face in this one looks similar to the ceramic piece ,Magnanimous JESTure ....that's because I made a silicone mold from the clay and reworked it in the wax to do the bronze by the lost wax method. The colors are all patinas and some metal dyes.. By the way cannot afford to have bronzes cast for me so do all the work ...casting , wax, investing, welding,, chasing, patinaing work. in my studio.garden .. very time consuming , very brute work, very hot work in a hot climate...such a rabbit stew. For the pour and burn out which takes equipment I don't own and needs more than one person, preferrably 5 or 6, there is a workshop that meets on Saturdays at the local community college. This piece is about 20" all bronze except for the supportive stand which is steel.
