All images © by Paul Nitsche 1991-2024.
investment
A sprue tree recently completed. Title and back plates for an upcoming large bronze sculptural piece entitled All Horizons Lost, Flesh Forever Found. Also the remake of The Ephemeral Knot title plate, and some other wax objects for future pieces.
Three sculpture title and name plates with a wax vertebrae and opossum manible.
A detail of the All Horizons Lost... title plate. Anterior and posterior heart views are sculpted on either side. This is the longest bronze plate I will have made, at 1.5" x 14".
The All Horizons Lost... plate on the sprue tree.
The Ephemeral Knot remake wax and the All Horizons Lost... name plate. Also a pine cone experiment. The pine cone should burn out into ash within the kiln.
A few small pieces for future sculptures. A leaf experiment, a vertebrae, and an opossum mandible.
The wax tree now in it's investment mold, waiting to go in the kiln at the University of Wisconsin foundry.
The rough waxes of the title and name/date plates for The Ephemeral Knot. On either side of the plates are castings of human finger bones, specifically that of a fourth proximal phalange. Note all the air bubbles in the lettering that need touching up.
The corrected wax title plate and a few other items on the sprue tree.
The corrected wax name and date plate on the sprue tree.
Brushing a skin coat of investment on the waxes.
At the foundry, pouring the bronze into the plates' investment mold.
The beauty of molten bronze.
After several hours, the mold is broken open and the removal and cleaning begins.
The rough bronzes. Unfortunately, the title plate has quite a bit of flashing. Flashing is a common casting defect caused when molten metal finds tiny cracks in the investment mold. Minor flashing can be fixed but the title plate will have to be redone. The name plate flashing is slight, and should clean up well.
I was a bit worried about how the arm would turn out because of how much bronze was used. If a metal sculpture is too thick, the cooling process can cause cracks or collapsing. Prior to investment, I thinned out what wax I could from the underside, but much of the sculpture had to be thick for future tapping and bolt placements. But everything formed well, and I'm really pleased with the level of detail.
Detail of the rough bronze.
Starting the removal of the investment.
The majority of the investment removed. There are some bones and pine cones for future pieces.
The arm removed from the sprue tree. There is still quite a bit of finishing work to do.
This will be my largest bronze sculpture as of yet, although there are larger ones to come this year. The brush on rubber mold with plaster mother mold worked beautifully, and I got a usable model on the first wax pour. The mold is going to be poured in bronze soon, and I'll be heading into the foundry this weekend to see how the piece looks.
The brush on mold of the arm sculpt with a two part plaster mother mold.
Filling the mold with wax.
The wax arm next to the original clay sculpt.
The wax arm is touched up and attached to a wax sprue tree and pour cup.
Putting on the detail coat of plaster and sand investment.