Based in Chattanooga, Tennessee, John Petrey uses a wide variety of materials in his well-crafted, whimsical, and sometimes symbolic work.

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

Townsend Casting resins are two-part liquid urethane casting system designed for use by sculptors, wood carvers, pattern makers, taxidermists, hobbyists, proto-typers, model makers, special effects professionals, doll makers, jewelers, restorers, to name a few.

Here are a few examples of pieces made with Townsend Casting Resin.

Study of a Female Centaur, by Cessna Decosimo, Chattanooga, TN

A mold was made from the artist’s original piece which was sculpted from clay. To achieve the beautiful bronze patina, the interior of the mold was dusted with bronze powder before the casting resin was poured into it. Once cured and de-molded, the surface was buffed with steel wool and patinaed with our Sculpt Nouveau solvent dyes.

Detail of Study of a Female Centaur

On the left is the original sculpture of a lizard made from stone. A mold was made of it with Knead-a-Mold. Then, Townsend Casting Resin was poured into the mold. The lizard on the right is the resin cast. The white resin lizard could now be painted, patinaed or left as is. To create a bronze surface, bronze powder could have been dusted into the mold prior to pouring in the resin. Visit our “how to” section on our website to read more.

Casting resin was poured into a silicone mold taken from an architectural ornament.

Bronze powder was dusted into a silicone mold, casting resin was then poured into the mold. When de-molded, the bronze bonds to the exterior of the resin and can be buffed or patinaed.

Back of the resin piece showing bronze powder on exterior.

This resin casting was poured into a silicone mold taken from an architectural terra cotta relief. The casting resin was poured into the mold which was dusted with gold-colored powder to give it a luminous surface.

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Townsend Atelier’s resident 7 year old artist (our son) made me the best Christmas present ever out of some of our molding and casting products! After he made his simple clay sculpture (by himself) a mold was made and was cast (with the help of his dad) into a permanent piece ready for mounting that looks just like solid bronze. Because a master mold was made, multiple editions can be cast and given to other family members. The sculpture is of our pet rabbit named Spinner.

1. First, the 7 year old artist sculpted his rabbit in ordinary clay. Any type of clay or even play-dough can be used EXCEPT sulfur based clays. The sulfur in the clay will not allow the silicone mold material to cure properly. Once he was happy with his clay sculpture, it was ready to be molded. The next steps were done by an adult.
2. Next, his dad applied several layers of Brush-a-Mold to the clay sculpture. It is not necessary to fire the clay or to let it dry before this process. Several layers of Brush-a-Mold are needed–it is recommended that at least a 1/4 inch thickness is achieved. For directions for Brush-a-Mold click here.
3. After the Brush-a-Mold was fully cured, the flexible mold was pulled off of the clay piece. The clay was wadded up to be re-used for another project.
4. Next, a generous dusting of bronze powder was put inside the mold. A small dry brush can be used to make sure that the powder adheres inside every nook and cranny. To see more instruction about bronze powder click here.
5. Townsend Casting Resin was mixed and poured into the mold and allowed to cure (about 16-20 minutes). Before fully cured, a threaded bolt was placed in the bottom so that a permanent device would be embedded for mounting the sculpture later.
6. When resin was fully cured, it was pulled out of the mold. The bronze powder that was dusted in the walls of the mold adhere permanently to the exterior of the sculpture and can be patina or buffed up with steel wool to make it shine like bronze.

De-molded sculpture with mounting device embedded in resin.

De-molded sculpture showing bottom with mounting device in white resin and bronze exterior.

We then drilled a hole in a pre-made wooden base (purchased at any hobby or hardware store), and screwed in the bolted sculpture.

The “real” Spinner checking out the sculpture.