Removing the plaster from the bronze this time proved a more inviting activity then previously. Knowing that i had already trailed the bronze and that i had perfected the process i was a lot more confident in the bronze coming out as a whole. The process was still extremely delicate and took a while to remove all the plaster and clean off the excess the best i could with a brush. When removing the bronze from the plaster only one of the vines didn't cast fully which was a great achievement and didn't effect the final look of the vine as i cast more than i needed just in case something like this was to happen. The reason that this particular vine didn't cast was that the vine was a lot more curved then the others, creating a U shape, this resulted in the bronze struggling to travel upwards and the gas having nowhere to escape.
After cleaning the bronze it was apparent that the bronze had bled in places, most likely there were some cracks in the plaster for the bronze to travel down. Removing these from the back of the leaves and stems was no problem as they could be sanded off fairly easily. However the bleeds on the front of the leaves needed to be removed in a more delicate manner, reducing the marking made on the veiny side of the leaf. After attempting to use the rotating drill head, which would catch and pull, I found that using pliers to twist and pull the bleeds off was the safest way of removal. Removing the bleeds with pliers meant that the bleeds could be removed from the very surface if the leaf without damaging the leaf itself. After this i removed the feeders to the leaves making it easier to sand blast.
After removing the bleeds and feeders i used the sand blaster to remove any remaining plaster that i might of missed. The sand blasting also removed any discolouring to the bronze making it all one tone and more visible to see where the bronzes needs tiding. When he bronze is discoloured it is easy to mistake the mis-colouring as a default in the bronze and therefor thinking it needs to be worked on. This is what happened in the trail process meaning when i sand blasted the bronze had already been over worked and looked unnatural.
This time when working on the leaves i held back from removing too much on the back of the leaves and avoided working on the stalks as much as possible. It was impossibly to fully avoid working on the bronze as i needed to remove the marks left behind where the feeders where attached. Thickening the stalks of the ivy was necessary for the leaves to cast however this was visible on the stalks of the leaves when cast in bronze, meaning i had to use the rotary file to tidy these without overworking them. My control over the rotary file has improved massively with practise meaning that it doesn't pull and catch therefore not filling down the wrong areas.
Once the vines were cleaned and tided i removed the main feeders so that the ivy would be a stand alone piece. I was then able to see how the vines could possibly be connected together in different was to create one long ivy vine. Before welding together the pieces i made sure that the layout i was choosing was natural to that of a real vine. The added small vine growing out of the main one proved tricky to get in the right place. The vine couldn't be too close to the end as it would be unnatural for a off shoot to grown and a very newly developed vine, it needed to be growing from a more mature section of the vine. However the start of the vine was extremely busy with mature leaves meaning an in between section had to be selected for the growth to look natural. I reviewed some growing ivy to confirm the right positioning before welding them all together.
Adding all the sections of the ivy together i felt a real sense of accomplishment that what i had produced was exactly what i envisaged if not better. Using the rotary file pen i tided up the joints so that they weren't visible ready from the sulphur treatment.
To finish the vine i needed to add the finishing touches to the bronze to get a high quality professional finish. I used the same technique i learnt when creating the bronze ginkgo leaves. I applied a sulpher wash all over the bronze and then left it to dry. Leaving the sulphur to dry meant that the groves would be extremely dark creating a higher contrast. After this using a scourer to remove the sulphur from the higher points of the sculpture. I decided that i wanted the leaves to be the only thing that was polished to really make the veins the most prominent feature. I plan to light the sculpture form above, meaning that by leaving the underneath of the leaves blackened it elevates the highlighted parts hopefully creating more depth. The sulphur needs a lot of scrubbing to get the desired aesthetic; i also scrubbed at the main stalk of the vine where the bark was really visible. Using the sulphur means i can highlight the best/most realistic sections of the bronze and darken the parts that i don't want to be so visible.
Finishing the bronze off with a coating of clear wax to seal in the sulphur makes the sculpture look complete and finished off to a high standard. The overall aesthetics of the vine is better than i could have anticipated. I have managed to create an organic form from a man made material that transitions so naturally. I am very happy with how i worked at the bronze this time around. previously the bronze was overworked and looked unnatural this time i kept it down to a minimum. The ivy as a stand alone piece is exactly how i wanted it however now i must work out how i will display the bronze in such a way that it doesn't take away from the bronze itself but in actual fact it enhances it. This is something i am going to have to trail and see what works best.
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| Bronze in plaster |
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| Bleeds on the front of the leaves |
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| discolouring of the leaves |
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| Larger/mature leaves cast separately |
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| Vines ready to be sand blasted |
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| sand blasted for an even toned bronze |
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| working at the stalks to remove marks left by the wax - keeping the work to a minimum |
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| Removal of the sections to get a proper understanding of the forms |
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| Evaluating how the layout of the bronze should be welded together |
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| The ivy fully welded together including mature leaves |
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| Sulphur wash over the ivy vine |
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| close up of the leaves once polished and waxed |
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