|
 Colin Fenn – renowned sculptor living in the Central West of NSW was guest tutor visiting Merilyn’s classes at her studio and also at Pigments and Palettes in Bathurst.
Colin loves creating interesting creatures and has a cheeky sense of humour.
Have a look at what he has to say about his creatures….all created using the lost wax method.
'My little creatures, (all happy & none of them bad, but full of mischief), are simply objects of sensation and impression. The power of the imagination, mixed with 'modern' and in some cases quite inexpensive materials allow me to 'create' in ceramics, carved stone and metals such as bronze, stainless steel, cast iron and also welded metals (braze welding, Gas metal Arc, Manual metal Arc & TIG)'
During May this year Merilyn Rice’s students in Bathurst were given the opportunity to create a bronze sculpture using the lost wax method of bronze casting.
 The first step to creating a bronze casting is to prepare the wax required to create the model. Before Colin turned up to classes Merilyn and her husband Geoffrey had a big job to heat, mix and pour two different types of wax to ensure that it was malleable enough for modeling by hand or with sculpting tools. The wax and colour must be uniform throughout – making it easy to see detail while sculpting.
Materials
- 300g brown wax – softer optimus 3 2AB54 – melting 70 – 80°c
- 200g red moulding wax – very hard – specifically for art bronze casting – 2AB44
- Two teaspoons of Vaseline
Method
Wax is heated in large pots and then poured into a frame Geoffrey made on concrete.
Alternatively pour into a shallow flat rectangular or round mold.
 
Drop molds of wax into a sink of cold water to cool and ensure easy removal.
The large sheet of wax made in the frame is cut up into smaller pieces.
 
The wax has to be softened in order to be molded to shape. Colin starts by saying 'Get a piece of wax and put it under your armpit'. If this doesn’t soften the wax (especially in Bathurst weather) then the microwave or a hairdryer can work wonders!
The wax sheets were broken into pieces and then softened, blended and molded into a ball. This will form the basis of your model with pieces added to this form or taken away to create your model.
After a lot of hard work the wax models are ready for casting
Contact
Colin Fenn
Email -
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Visit website
Merilyn Rice
Email -
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Next month Part 2 - the finished bronzes |
