All images © by Paul Nitsche 1991-2024.
investment mold
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.
Below are pictures of the last bronze pour at the University of Wisconsin foundry. I poured my investment mold for the title plates of The Ephemeral Knot, and All Horizons Lost, Flesh Forever Found, as well as a few other waxes for future pieces. Observing this time was a group from a local high school.
Foundry pour, April 2016.
Setting up the molds with the pour team.
Practicing the pouring order of the molds.
Sculptor and Art Metals instructor Peter Flanary loading the forge with bronze. Take a look at his work HERE.
Bringing the bronze crucible out of the forge. A group from a local high school was observing.
The pouring of my investment mold.
Pouring other artists' investment and sand molds.
The remaining bronze is poured into ingots.
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.