Gary Lee Price | Bronze Sculptures

Flight Time Sisters in Clay

admin — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 18:52:54 +0000

Dan has been adding clay to the foam and getting the sculpture looking real good. It’s very close to being finished. How did Dan get up so high to work on the little girl (he’s not real tall)?! How do you think it looks? Please let me know.

Wax Pour

admin — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 18:36:41 +0000

It’s now time to make a wax copy of the sculpture. Little Dave has heated up the mold with a hairdryer (so the wax will pour a little smoother) then slowly pours wax in the mold. He rolls it around making sure to cover all the rubber then dumps it out. Dave lets it cool for a few minutes then pours in a second coat. After that coat has cooled he does a third. After the third coat has completely cooled Dave takes apart the plaster mother-mold, then slowly and carefully peels the rubber off the wax. And there you have a wax copy of the clay! Dave will hand the wax over to the waxchasers who will get rid of the seams, fix any bubbles or any other problems. We’ll show that in the next day or two.

Real vs. Fake

admin — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 14:32:37 +0000

One of the most frustrating things that we encounter is seeing knock-off sculptures. These “bronzes”, and I use that term loosely, are copies of other artist’s works that are created overseas, then are sold, most time over the internet, for extremely low prices. There are a couple ways to identify these sculptures: First, the patina, or finish, usually has the same look on all of these pieces- a slick, brown lacquer on the skin then a greenish-blue color on the shirts, dresses, or other parts of clothing. Seeing this patina is usually a dead giveaway that the sculpture is a knock-off. Second, the quality of the sculptures are usually pretty bad, both the sculpting and the metal work. I know that every artist has their own technique and styles, but knock-offs tend to look pretty bad. Third, the price of knock-offs are extremely low. To give an example of how low they are, our Circle of Peace sculpture of 7 children holding hands in a circle, sells for $99,000 where the knock-off copy of this piece sold for under $10,000. This also let’s you know that these sculptures are created from, what we call, Mystery Metal. Bronze is a semi-precious metal and is quite expensive and the cost of metal, if it were bronze, would be more than the price of the knock-off sculpture! We have had people bring to our foundry their knock-off sculptures, not realizing that is what they have, for repairs and when our metal workers have tried to weld them, they puddle and can’t be fixed.

We have had to take some of these places that sell these bronzes to court for copyright infringement.

When you are looking for a bronze sculpture, make sure you are getting a real bronze from a reputable artist or gallery to ensure that you will be making a smart purchase and investing your money wisely. Let me know your thoughts or tell me your experiences with purchasing sculptures.

Shaping Up

admin — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 13:27:12 +0000

Our buddy Dan has finished welding the armature and has cut and glued foam to the armature to build up some mass and create a little shape. Dan now is using his utility knife to shave and somewhat sculpt the foam to the point so he can start adding the clay. Careful with that knife, Dan! I need you to keep your fingers!

Flight Time Sisters

admin — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 20:04:24 +0000

Dan has made it back from his vacation to Orcas Island, WA and has started to point up the Flight Time Sisters. He begins again by welding together the armature. The armature is an infrastructure that will give stability to the sculpture and acts as a skeleton to the sculpture.

Once he has finished welding the armature he will add the foam board. Please follow along as we document the creation of this sculpture. As always, we look forward to any comments you may have!

Plaster

admin — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 15:30:19 +0000

Sammy has finished coating the sculpture with rubber. He had to coat the whole thing, let it set up, then mix another batch and apply another coat. He has had to do that six times. Along the way Sam built up thick seams where the rubber will be cut apart.

The rubber has completely set up, so now Sam has started creating the plaster “Mother Mold”. The plaster will help keep the mold together when its time time to pour the wax, but we will show that when the time comes. Sam has a Rubbermaid tub that he puts some water in, along with a wee bit of retardant that will keep the plaster from setting up too quick, then ads the plaster. He mixes it with his hands, making sure to get rid of all the lumps. Clumps of hemp are used to give the plaster support. Sam starts by making a plaster “sausage” that will go all along the edge. Then he makes a “patty” that will fill in the big sections. After getting all the sausage and patties on, he smooths the plaster over with his hands and uses a metal tool to smooth the edges. Once all the plaster is done, we will take more pictures.

We welcome any comments you may have about what we’re doing.

Time for Rubber!

admin — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 18:58:03 +0000

Gary put his finishing touches on Mark, signed and dated it, and it is ready to be molded. To make the molds and the casting process easier, Sam cuts parts of the sculpture off with a saws-all. These pieces are set onto turntables and rubber will be applied. Metal shims are stuck into the clay, which are used to separate the different sections of the mold.

Sammy then mixes the silicon rubber; note that it starts off white, then the catalyst is added, which is blue, that causes the rubber to set up. We’ve discovered our favorite way to mix the rubber is with an electric drill and a beater. After the rubber has been mixed and the air bubbles removed, Sam applies the rubber with a hog hair brush, working it in to the texture and making sure rubber covers every part of the clay. The first coat of rubber is very thin to capture all the detail. The rubber will take a number of hours to set up, at which time another coat will be applied. It is a long process, but a good mold can be used for years and many, many castings.

Fired Up to Learn

admin — Thu, 29 May 2008 19:25:09 +0000

This, my latest, was created for the inspiration and enjoyment of kids. Those mystical and magical symbols of wisdom, long life, and happiness have forever fascinated children of all ages. This particular dragon willingly shares his treasures of knowledge- his collections of anthologies and wisdom of the ages with his young admirers. He even provides a quick seat with his tail as he looks forward to a cozy read with his friends. Come and join in the storytelling!

I actually did the original study for this piece about 15 years ago when our kids were in Sagecreek Elementary. Their mascot was and still is the “Braggin’ Dragon”. I started the piece with the intention to have the children help me apply clay to it at the school using my study as our model. Then I was going to have everyone sign the clay and cast it. Well as I got busy on other projects our boys “graduated” from Sagecreek and I lost my zeal for the project.

I always kept the original study on my studio shelf, though, and a couple of months ago I got “fired up” again about it. Some pieces, I guess, have to gel for a few years before it’s their time. Now is the time!

-GL Price

Sculptor

PS. I’m still open to the school mascot- children help with the clay- idea. If your school would be interested and there would be sponsors- let us know! It could really be fun!

It’s Just About There!

admin — Wed, 28 May 2008 20:42:23 +0000

Dan has done a fantastic job, as usual, getting the sculpture pointed up. He will make just a few more adjustments then turn it over to me so I can put my finishing touches on it. Look at what a great job Dan has done- compare these pictures to the maquette and the previous pictures on the blog. Please let me know your thoughts!

Flight Time

admin — Wed, 28 May 2008 20:23:19 +0000

We’ve all done it- either been the twirled or the twirler. Remember the rush, the balance, and finally trying to stay upright after the dizziness. I think most of all we remember the laughing and the pure fun as the world continues to spin while we’ve stopped.

Perhaps this is one of our first “air-borne” maneuvers that endows us with that sensation that we really can fly- both in body and in spirit. Maybe we should all regularly get a little “flight time” just to get us off the ground a bit and help remind us to keep the proper perspective on things, to laugh more and have a little more fun!

A note of interest: my son, Isaiah, who was my original model for the “twirler”, is now a pilot flying tours over Lake Powell in southern Utah. He’s always been interested with flight in one form or another. I captured him at age 12 flying his brother- now a decade later he’s flying French tour groups! Wow- life’s continuum!

-GLP