BRONZING AND PATINATING A PLASTER BUST

A few students brought their own pieces to work on at the workshop.  Chattanooga sculptor, Roses Taylor, metal coated her plaster bust in bronze and applied tiffany green patina.  First, the plaster bust was sprayed with BRONZE METAL C Coating. The first coat is applied and allowed to dry. Then a second coat is applied. While the second coat of metal coating is still wet, Liver of Sulfur is sprayed on to give the bronze a rich golden hue. Finally, Traditional Tiffany Green Patina was sprayed on while surface was still wet. The patina developed a gorgeous blue-green color in a very short amount of time. More patinas or waxes can be applied to achieve different patination. Or Permalac lacquer can be applied to stop the patina development process and to protect the surface when desired coloration is achieved.

Founded in 1988 in Ooltewah, Tennessee, Richards Fowkes & Company has been hand-building incredible pipe organs for churches and universities around the country. Founders Bruce Fowkes and Ralph Richards have brought together a group of talented American and European craftsmen to build these ambitious organs in the traditional manner and methods of historic northern European instruments.
Although all of the casework is hand built and hand carved from wood, the over 60 ornate carved finials that embellish the casework are made from Townsend Casting Resin. First, several master prototype finials were hand carved from oak. Then, Knead-a-Mold (the light blue material shown) was applied onto the carved finials so that an exact replica could be made. Because Knead-a-Mold picks up very minute detail, the texture and grain of the wood was captured beautifully in the mold. Once the mold was made, Townsend Casting Resin was poured into the mold and allowed to cure. The resin cured to a bright white color and was then post finished with a variety of dyes and paints that matched the natural golden brown color of the oak.

Photos show some of the completed cast resin finials incorporated onto oak framework.
The finished pipe organ is 27′ tall, has 30 stops, and approximately 1700 pipes. The largest pipe is 16′ tall and the smallest is 1 1/2″ long and the diameter of a soda straw.

To learn more about Richards Fowkes & Co and to see more of their work, visit www.richardsfowkes.com
Click here to see Townsend Atelier products.

For his Dress Series, Petrey uses Townsend Casting Resin for the torso forms. To achieve the rich green patinas on the copper torsos, he uses Traditional Green Patinas.

Dress Series: resin, wood, copper, mixed media. The piece on the left is 27″ high. The piece on the right is 58″ high.

Part of a Series of Five Dresses commissioned by The Baylor Womens’ Hospital, Fort Worth, TX

Mixed media, resin, & copper. 60″w x 44″h x 1′d

To view more of John Petrey’s work, visit www.johnpetrey.com

Victor uses a wide variety of processes and materials in his work including Knead-a-Mold. He says, “Knead a mold is a very easy to use, versatile product which has been very useful in making quick molds. It is especially useful in molding bas-reliefs, and small sculptures for wax and plaster reproduction.”

Monument to Firefighters in clay Detail

Monument to Firefighters, bronze/installation in Lawrence, KS

Old Man, clay

Sequoya, life-sized, clay

To see more of Benjamin Victor’s work, visit www.benjaminvictor.com

These yummy Oreo pendants were made by making a mold with Knead-a-Mold onto a real cookie and then pressing white earthenware clay into the cured mold. The fired earthenware cookies were carefully painted with brown glazesand then varnished.

This starfish pendant was made with white earthenware clay pressed into a mold made from a real starfish with Knead-a-Mold. The starfish is glazed in a lovely, soft orange which was partially wiped away to reveal the beautiful texture of the starfish. It was then glazed in a clear gloss glaze, affixed to a sterling silver bail and hung from a black elastic cord. “I grew up on the coast of Maine and am missing the ocean living here in Atlanta, and so i have started making some pieces that remind me of my salty roots!”

The pendants and earrings below are made from white stoneware clay that were pressed into a Knead-a-Mold mold that were taken from vintage cabochons and other interesting objects.

To view more of Charity’s work visit:
www.charityelise.com
www.charityelise.etsy.com
To view all of Townsend Atelier products click here

Our new Web Gallery will be a place where we will regularly showcase some of the incredible work that our customers are creating with our products. We are always excited to see what everyone is making and hope that you will be too. Please check our site periodically for new postings.

You may get some inspiration. What will you make?

P.S. We would love for you to tell us what you are making! Send us an email and let us know!

Leslie Molen is a nationally recognized doll artist based in Denver, CO. She has exhibited her one-of-a-kind work in galleries and museums around the world.

Little Blossoms in Red, and Little Blossoms in Lavender, by Leslie Molen. Mold of original clay head with Knead-a-Mold, silicone putty. The “Heads in a row” show from original, molded, and the finished product.

To make the finely detailed heads of her intricate elves, she pours the heads in Clay-Shay (available at AVES) which she covers with cloth. Leslie then makes a mold of the cloth covered clay head with Knead-a-Mold.“I appreciate that the Knead-a- Mold picks up such fine detail that I can still cover the head in fabric and that detail still shows through!” she says.

For more information about Leslie and her work, visit www.rootie.com
To view all of Townsend Atelier products, click here