Wanda will be exhibiting her work at the Evergreen Fine Arts Festival in Evergreen, Colorado on August 25 & 26, 2018. Evergreen Fine Arts Festival
Wanda will also be participating in the Salida Studio Tour in Salida, Colorado Sept. 22 & 23, 2018. Salida Studio Tour
Wanda and her husband Daryl have relocated from New Bremen, Ohio to Salida, Colorado. Wanda now devotes even more time to art in her new studio. She continues to sculpt but also is devoting more time to painting.
The life size sculpture “Partners” (the boy leading a mule) has been installed in front of the lock keepers house on the towpath of the Miami and Erie Canal in New Bremen, Ohio. It is located near the Southwest corner of S. Rt. 66 and St. Rt. 274. Wanda’s clay original was cast into bronze by Roger Smith at Michiganartcastings.com. This bronze is now a part of the Komminsk Legacy Park.
Although modern materials such as latex and liquid ceramic mixtures are used today, the process of making a bronze sculpture has remained much the same as it has been for thousands of years. Although it is hard to explain without seeing it, here is a general summary of the process.
The Sculptor creates the original work of art in clay. A mold is made by applying a number of coats of liquid rubber onto the surface of the clay. Before this takes place, the original sculpture is frequently cut into a number of pieces, if the piece cannot properly be done with one mold.
Plaster is applied on top of the rubber mold to hold the softer rubber mold together. This is now called the Mother Mold. This mold is removed from the original, in 2 pieces. This mold will be used to produce each of the limited edition bronzes.
The 2 halves of the mold are reassembled and hot wax is poured into the mold. The wax must coat the entire inner surface of the mold, in the proper thickness. Excess wax is poured out.
The Mother Mold is then removed (to be used again for each sculpture). This wax replica of the original is then chased. This is the process where all imperfections are corrected, including the seam marks, and wax sprues are added where needed. These are pieces of wax strategically placed to create passageways for the molten bronze to flow into the figure.
This sprued wax replica is then dipped in a liquid ceramic mixture and dusted with sand to give strength to each layer. This process is repeated many times until a very hard shell is produced.
The wax is then melted out (thus the term "lost wax") and molten bronze (at 2020 degrees) is poured into this hard ceramic shell. After the piece cools, the hard ceramic shell is broken away to reveal the cast piece.
It is then chased. This process consists of welding pieces back together (if it was done in more than one piece), getting rid of all of the seams and sprue bars, and grinding away all weld marks.
The piece is then sandblasted, and patinas are applied. This is a chemical process that gives the bronze the colors that the sculptor has chosen. The sculpture is then waxed and mounted to a base. The base has been designed by the sculptor and is usually wood, stone, or a combination of both, and is usually made by a base shop.
You can see that there are many artisans involved in this complicated process. This team consists of the sculptor, the mold maker, the wax pourer and chaser, the metal caster, the metal chaser, the patineur, and the base maker. Since each piece is technically an original, there are always some variations, but in the hands of these talented professionals the end result is a beautifully executed, permanent work of art.