Currently @ JB-3D

	The sculptors are currently working in wax and clay from the model. Wax work in the winter requires heatlamps to soften the material

Bronze @ JB-3D :   Today the sculptors had their first bronze pour of the trimester. Bobby DesPain donned the bronze pouring gear and manned the 2 man shank and the crucible ring.   Special thanks to Alex Miller for photography		Bobby suits up.
The molds are carefully removed from the burn-out kiln and set into the sand pit.		The bronze is brought to red heat and is skimmed to remove slag (unwanted debris in the crucible).
Bobby checks the temp of the bronze with the pyrometer. We take the metal up to 2150 degrees F before we pour.		Bobby and Ms. Martin lift the crucible out of the furnace with the shank.

The first mold is poured.		The pouring team agrees on a pattern in which to pour so there is no disruption in the process.
The last mold. Notice the orange glow on the mold to the upper right of the one being poured. That mold cracked open from the force of the expanding bronze on a weakened section of the mold. We discussed re-pouring the mold, but the crack was too large.		Michael opens his mold with an axe and examines his bronze (below).
		This was a particularly nice pour with excellent detail and minimal defects. The bronze casts can last for thousands of years and yet record a moment with such clarity that on a good cast, you can even see the artist's fingerprints.

Advanced sculptors, Nicole, Alex, Bobby and Caleb mixing plaster while eating biscotti. (not recommended)

A recent assignment involved intricate modeling in oil base clay from a model that consists of a latex sheet stretched over a form such as a nail, a shell, spoon, etc. We are examining the illusion that sculptors deal with daily - the implication that there is surface tension across a form such as skin over bone and muscle or the illusion that drapery is taut or any number of implied surfaces that a sculptor must create to simulate an illusion in clay or stone.

Occasionally the Advanced Sculptors get confused about mixing investment (for bronze casting molds). Here we see Alex and Bobby demonstrating their confusion by getting stuck in a bucket of investment.