From Clay to Bronze: A Studio Guide to Figurative Sculpture

Cover......Page 1
Copyright......Page 5
Contents......Page 7
Preface......Page 9
Introduction - A Brief History of Bronze Casting......Page 10
A Place to Work......Page 13
Equipment and Supplies......Page 14
The Process......Page 16
Water Clay......Page 19
Oil Clay......Page 23
Self-hardening Clay......Page 25
Wax......Page 26
Sculpting without Armatures......Page 27
Armatures......Page 29
4 - Modeling the Head......Page 41
The Model......Page 42
Three Methods of Working......Page 43
Modeling the Head from Photographs......Page 47
Modeling a Relief Portrait......Page 48
5 - Modeling the Figure......Page 51
From Theory to Practice......Page 52
Foundry Enlarging......Page 59
Enlarging on Your Own......Page 60
Firing Clay......Page 67
Direct Building......Page 71
Kinds of Molds......Page 73
Making a Waste Mold......Page 75
Making a Plaster Piece Mold......Page 84
Kinds of Products Available......Page 85
Brushed-on Flexible Molds......Page 88
Mother Molds......Page 95
Poured Flexible Molds......Page 98
Rejoining and Storing Flexible Molds......Page 100
Casting in Clay......Page 101
Casting in Plaster......Page 106
Casting in Cement and Concrete......Page 112
Casting in Paper......Page 113
Kinds of Metal Casting......Page 115
Pouring and Alloys......Page 117
Metal Casting with a Professional Foundry......Page 119
12 - Waxes and Sprue Systems......Page 121
Working Directly with Wax......Page 123
Casting with Wax......Page 124
Sprue Systems and Spruing......Page 129
Investing with Solid, or Traditional, Investment......Page 135
Investing with Ceramic Shell......Page 146
Burning Out Solid Investments......Page 149
Pouring Metal......Page 153
Devesting......Page 162
Cleaning......Page 163
Repairing and Refining......Page 166
Welding......Page 170
16 - Bases and Mounting......Page 177
Preparing a Sculpture for Mounting......Page 181
Choosing a Base and Mounting Your Sculpture......Page 185
Preparing the Bronze......Page 193
A Color Guide to Patinas......Page 194
Techniques......Page 211
The Chemicals......Page 214
Final Coatings......Page 216
Photographing Your Work......Page 217
Editions and Pricing......Page 223
Exhibiting......Page 225
Commissions......Page 227
Metric Conversions......Page 230
Glossary......Page 231
Further Reading......Page 234
List of Suppliers......Page 236
Index......Page 240
Back Cover......Page 242