SculptingThe first stage of a project may be the studying of an animal in the wild, taking photos and sketches of an animal or person, or maybe researching the life of a famous individual for a commission. Ideas and designs are developed by studying and reworking sketches, and producing various maquettes – small, roughly finished sculptures that help to give a sense of how the finished piece will look. When the design has been decided upon the next stage is to produce the armature for the full scale sculpture. The armature is the skeleton onto which the sculpture is built, and is usually made using metal wire. Whether the sculpting is done in clay, plaster or wax will depend on the nature of the piece – the level of detail and the surface textures that are to be created. When the sculpture is finished a mould is made. The mould is made from silicon rubber supported by a plaster or fibreglass casing – the rubber is able to capture every detail of the original and replicate it faithfully. At the FoundryThis mould is then taken to the foundry and used to produce a hollow wax version of the original sculpture. Additional rods of wax are added to the piece so that the air can escape during the pouring of the bronze. The was is now 'invested' – coated in a layer of fire-proof ceramic, which is heated to melt out the wax, leaving a hollow shell. This is why the process is known as 'lost wax' casting. It is into this shell that the molten bronze is poured. When the bronze has cooled the ceramic shell is broken off to reveal a hollow bronze version of the original sculpture. This is then cleaned up, filed, sanded and perhaps several moulded parts will need to be welded together to reconstruct the original design. Only once all of this is done does the final and most exciting stage take place - the patination. The patination, or 'colouring' of the bronze, is the most exhilarating moment of the whole process. A near infinite range of colours and tones are possible through the varied application of heat and chemicals to the surface of the bronze. The transformation from shine piece of bronze to beautifully coloured sculpture is remarkable. Only at that moment do all the months of work come to fruition and the sculpture is complete. Click here to see the stages of creating the Darwin statue. | 
Sculpting 
Moulding 
Wax 
Invested wax 
Casting 
Chased bronze 
Patination 
Finished bronze |