In the process of creating a bronze sculpture - a sculpture starts with the construction of an armature (or skeleton) to support the piece. This is sometimes filled out with Styrofoam wire or plaster to create a stable framework for the sculpture.
Modeling compound or clay is then laid on this foundation, and the piece is "roughed out". Detail is finally added, and the mold is ready to be made.
Often, as an interim step, a waste mold is created directly from the clay in either hydro-cal or plaster, in this way the piece can be refined or mistakes corrected before the final mold is made.
From here a silicon mold is made from rubber and plaster. Melted wax is then poured into the mold and a "positive" image is obtained. The wax image is then dipped multiple times in a ceramic "slurry" until a hard shell is formed. The wax is then burned out in an oven, and a hollowed-out or "negative" image is created.
Bronze ingots are melted down and the melted bronze is then poured into the cavity. When the metal has sufficiently cooled, the bronze sculpture is broken out, chased, cleaned, a patina of choice is applied. the sculpture is then mounted on its base and,
Voila...........
This method is called 'Cire Perdue' or the lost wax process and is 3,000 years old.
Flora
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