email manfred@tilt.com.au

GREG HOWDEN SCULPTURE

NEW= BRONZE SCULPTURE

-These "Duco" finished fibreglass dogs are first modelled in clay, a plaster waste mould is made, laminated, cast, and extensively hand finished, requiring more than 200 working hours to complete. All dogs are One off Originals.

ABOVE: SC48 -SCULPTURE -Sagacious Audacity Hound -1977- LIFE SIZE (Grey-Hound)

ABOVE: SC46 -SCULPTURE -Transcended Hound -1978- LIFE SIZE (Grey-Hound)

ABOVE: SC49 -SCULPTURE -Sagacious Benevo-Hound -1977- LIFE SIZE (Grey-Hound)

ABOVE: SC47 -SCULPTURE -Sagacious Hound -1977- LIFE SIZE (Grey-Hound)

 

Well I don't have any greyhounds, just various assistants over the years with big black noses and waggy tails but I liked the greyhound shape and what better place to photograph these guys than a greyhound farm.And this was the basis of these sculptures. Working from the pictures taken they were first made in clay. Mould making is quite intricate and you need to first work out where the seams will be so you can not only remove the mould from the clay without any damage but also how you are going to join the fibreglass cast from the inside. If you want to re-use the mould then you either have to have more pieces or consider a flexible mould making material such as silicon which is a more expensive and involved mould. For the greyhound sculptures what is referred to as a "waste mould" was used. That is that once the inside of the mould is prepared, laminated and "joined from within" the plaster mould is broken with a hammer and the fibreglass cast is cleaned. Next the seams are filled and chased. The finish I chose is similar to how you would hand finish a car. I was able to gain some useful hints from a friend who was a panel beater and spray painter. Undercoat is first applied followed by spray on primer and a guide coat is applied after that to enable the hand finish by working your way down with abrasive papers you can visually check for smoothness. The finish coats are sprayed wet on wet and at varying intervals, allowed to cure dry and cut and polished. I have estimated that the entire process for each of these greyhounds to be around 200 hours each. To make a bronze the process is quite different. Commonly known as lost wax. this series comes initially from one small clay upright standing nude. An intermediate mould from this was made in concrete, another cast made and from this it was reworked and a master silicon mould made and here begins the process of "lost wax" technique. A basic but detailed mould for a standing figure is now ready for the pouring of hot wax. There are different grades of wax available ranging from very flexible to hard with different shrinkage and other characteristics. The pouring temperature of the wax has to be quite precise in order in order to produce a fault free cast free of air bubbles and defects. The flexible silicon mould is supported by a plaster key mould sectioned and assembled. Once the wax has cooled I begin to manipulate the basic figure in to another position, working the wax extensively by adding and carving heated wax eliminating the distortions and finding the correct balance for the figure. The wax is finally smoothed using an abrasive material and turps. Sprues are carefully attached to the wax for support and pouring of the bronze, the wax cast is encased in a ceramic material. Placed in an oven the wax evaporates or is "lost" leaving a cavity for the hot molten bronze (1000 C) to be poured. Once the bronze has cooled the ceramic mould is broken away, sprues are cut off, any defects are TIG welded filed, chased and polished working down from course abrasives to very fine. In the case of the natural bronze finish the surface is extensively polished before a UV resistant sealant is applied. In producing the black/brown/green marble like appearance a "patina" is applied and this involved considerable research to get this right. Fortunately by means of the web I was able communicate with a very helpful lady who runs a very large fine art foundry in Montana USA who proved to be a valuable guide (and has a bunch of deer and elk running around in her back yard I might add.) In preparation for the patina the bronze cast is first cleaned by means of air abrasion or fine "glass beads" and this provides a key for the patina chemicals which are applied and worked to a cold or hot surface respectively of the finish required. There are also some very important guidelines to be observed as to which chemicals are used as "bronze disease" can actually be introduced to the cast if ignorance by the artistisan prevails and we don't want that to happen do we especially when creating an art media that should last for centuries and beyond.