#376 In the foundry: "Striding Cougar", lost wax casting, con't . . .

To follow this process from the beginning, scroll back to post #369, January 2.

The age-old lost wax casting process has been completed and the cougar is now cast in bronze.

Below, the ceramic shell filled with bronze, has cooled and hardened, and the shell
is broken off with a hammer.  The remaining bits of shell are then sandblasted off.

Below, the bronze sprues are cut off and returned to the
pouring floor where they will be melted down for future use.

Below, the cougar is taken to the welding table and the bronze patches are welded on.  Note the
two bronze patches under the cougar's tail.  As the weld lines are chased away and blended
into the surrounding metal textures, I spend many hours in the foundry.  The metal chasing step
in the process is very important to the artist: The integrity of the surface and what was modeled
into the clay must flow seamlessly.  A metal chaser is a highly trained technician
and must be sensitive to and aware of the sculptors modeling techniques.