He's Done!

Craig and I drove up to Joseph yesterday and picked up the bronze at the foundry.  I was really excited to see him!!!!  The guy from Valley Bronze called about a week beforehand and said that the piece was very close to getting ready for the final step of patina work, so Monday would be a good time for us to come up and watch it "get the dunk" into the color solution. 


It was really interesting to see the process of adding color to metalwork.  "Gribble" a.k.a. "Gribble the Scribble" - (the goofy name that I came up with for the sculpture...) was plunged into a sulphur acid tank multiple times and then heated to 360 degrees with a blow torch.  After he was good and sizzling hot, the foundry painter dobbed some special patina paint on him with a huge paintbrush.  It was fascinating to watch the paint sizzle into the metal like a hot frying pan skillet!  The whole process of adding color to the bronze took about an hour and was really educational.  I don't think that I'll ever have the heart it takes to confidently handle a blow torch for patina work like some artists can - as fire really scares me! 


But Gribble turned out really good.  The goofy artifact style Akhal Teke is now on our mantle in the house.  I've started work on a second bronze slated for 2014, which will be in a completely different style from this guy. 

I've caught a slight bronze bug and now I'm hooked....