Original artwork description:

Silver plated bronze sculpture
Romantic sitting figurines
Size: 4.5" without stone base
Stone: black marble ( with veins )

"CARESS" in silver
These 4.5" silver plated bronze figurines are freely sitting on their stone base. A glue dot keeps the figures slightly adhered.

This is the ultimate in anniversary gifts. 25th wedding anniversary the traditional gift is silver.
It is a small yet intimate sculpture that can be placed on the dresser, desk or shelf. I am pleased with this design, and it received an award in 2018 Sculpture in the park event in Loveland Colorado. A 92" sculpture is in the permanent collection in the park by the lake.

Description of creation and casting process for my larger work.

Creating an original bronze sculpture is quite involved and labor-intensive. I start out modeling the original either in clay or another sculpting material from wax to wood. I sculpt with the human emotion and connectedness in mind. All of my little couples and families should convey that bond. Upon completion a silicone rubber mold is created from the original. Then liquid hot wax is poured into to mold. When it's hardened if can easily be released. The unfinished wax copies are carefully reworked with sculpting tools. Once the waxes are to my satisfaction, I send them to the foundry. They attach the spruces, dip them into a ceramic mixture until a shell of about an inch has built up. Then they are adding the waxes in their shell to the kiln. The wax is molten out and the negative is retained in the ceramic shell mold. Thereafter, the liquid bronze ( it's super hot) is poured into this second mold. After a cooling time, the shell is destroyed.
The cleanup takes a while and the shell is destroyed with power tools and the rough bronze is sandblasted. The spruces are roughly cut with a plasma cutter. Then I receive the raw bronze back for finishing. Some welding might be necessary, metal cutting and chasing and sanding. After the raw bronze is once more sandblasted and carefully cleaned, the patina is applied either with heat or cold. The application takes a while to oxidize. Sometimes it takes a few days to get the desired result. Then parts are highlighted by polishing and a protective coating is sprayed on as a last finishing stage.

Materials used:

Bronze, silver plate, marble

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