NEW bronze sculpture by Dave Stevenson
Read moreStrike up The Band
Year of The Griffon
Chimaeras have been haunting artists' portfolios since antiquity. Now they've infiltrated mine! An enduring symbol of courage and protection, the Griffon is an apt mascot for 2021. Six months in the making, this has been the most challenging abstraction I have tackled to date. I am currently enlarging my original sculpture from 44 inches to seven feet high in foam & resin by 3D scanning/CNC milling. From there it will be molded and cast in bronze. Fortify your dominion with a pair of Gothic Chimaeras! For pre-sale details: call or write
How to Make a Monumental Bronze (in 44 seconds)
Patina Time w/Rosemary Rednour of Polich-Tallix Foundry
Matching/Assembly for Final Weld-up
I drove across the NEW Tappan Zee bridge--just three days after it reopened--on the way to the foundry (& my studio) today. Not exactly the most aesthetically exhilarating experience, but still kind of exciting because I have enjoyed watching it rise S L O W L Y from the Hudson River since the project began.
Once at the foundry, I approved the weld-up for the two sections of Acrobat--making sure both pieces matched perfectly before sealing them together for eternity. It's a symmetrical piece, so sure, I took a few measurements, but mostly it's just done by eye. The "Boomerang" video below shows us preparing to assemble the sculpture using a forklift as a crane.
What's next? I'll grind out and polish the welds tomorrow, and after the holiday weekend I'll map out the final design for the base--then, patina time!
Chasing Bronze
ACROBAT is Bronze! Now let's see how long it takes me to polish it smooth...
Read moreGoing Bonkerdoodles Today in the Wax Room, w/Pete & Repeat
It’s no secret I hate wax. I should replace hate with loathe. Despise? Maybe detest is better. Except that sounds too academic. Oh, I #^%@&*^ wax!
Chasing, in case you're wondering, is the innocuous term for smoothing out every single unsightly nick and scratch of a wax prototype, and filling any untoward dips and undulations that deviate from or threaten the integrity of the original sculpture. Any imperfection undetected during this stage will show up in bronze, where the labor to rectify it is increased by a factor of 3. Hence the endless mind-numbing pursuit for flaws in the wax. Since the material is inherently soft, repairing one side of a form invariably nicks the opposite side. Pete & Repeat ad nauseum.
The tedious, interminable, agonizing wax stage is a necessary phase of bronze casting. To get through it I take constant breaks. For water. Coffee. M & M’s. I read inane celebrity news. I hang from the rafters. And blame my apathy & indolence on undiagnosed ADHD.
But I'm almost done! Next week we’ll weld up “Acrobat” to set the mounting angle, and cut it back up into 4 sections for final gating to prep for casting. Wax, schmax. Grinding, filing & polishing bronze? That’s The Part I am Looking Forward To!!!!!! I think it’s safe to say everyone in Polich-Tallix’s wax room is looking forward to that too.