All images © by Paul Nitsche 1991-2024.
It was great to be outside in a sunny warm Spring evening opening the mold for the plates for The Ephemeral Knot and All Horizons Lost... But as soon as I started removing the investment, I knew my pieces were in trouble. Maybe the metal was poured too hot, maybe my investment mix wasn't right, but there was an astounding amount of flashing. Some of the castings can be salvaged, but some will have be redone.
The investment mold outside the foundry. I couldn't wait to see how the castings turned out.
After I removed most of the investment from the castings, it was obvious the pieces had a huge amount of flashing. This image is of the long All Horizons Lost... plate.
The opossum mandible still with a bit of investment around it.
The investment tree with the investment removed. Look at all that flashing- I just felt sick at this point. It's as if I brought this up from the ocean floor.
The All Horizons Lost... plate. What a mess. Besides the flashing it is warped and twisted. I tried to make it thinner than I usually do and I think that contributed to the distortion.
The ugly seven. I think I can salvage most of this, but the long title plate for All Horizons Lost... will have to be redone. There are many hours of grinding and finish work ahead of me.