Materials
Limited edition sculpture in stone-resin or foundry-cast bronze:
Each piece is marked with its edition number and accompanied by a certificate of authenticity.
The largest edition I now make is of twenty-five casts. Most are fewer.
The largest bronze edition is of nine. Many pieces have a bronze edition and a stone-resin edition. Almost all editions have one, two or three ‘artist’s casts’ in addition. These are the first casts out of the mould and are used as ‘masters’ from which to work on all the others. They are often sold at the end of the edition. Instead of 4/15 (for instance), an artist’s cast will be marked A/C/15.
The original sculpture can be made of anything (e.g. clay, wax, plaster, polystyrene, wood, cement, resin, stone).
A flexible rubber mould, encased in fibreglass to hold it in shape, is made in several pieces from the original.
If the final sculpture is to be in bronze, a hollow wax is made from this mould and taken to the foundry. Otherwise a cast is made from the mould using a stone-resin mix.
After curing overnight, the cast is removed from the mould; the seams are ground off and the entire surface is ground, sanded and polished.
STONE-RESIN is an amalgam of polyester resin and stone. I use four stones of different colours, ground down to different sized dusts or grits and mixed together in varying proportions.
The base colour comes from a welsh grey limestone and the dominant red speckle from a scottish red granite. The other two stones are a cornish green granite and a white italian limestone.
Maintenance
Bronze needs minimum maintenance. It will weather and age beautifully and will last for many centuries (but it does look even more lovely for the occasional coat of polish).
If kept indoors, stone-resin will need no more than dusting.
Out of doors, dust, grime, bird-droppings etc can be removed with a damp cloth.
The shine will dull in the weather and can be buffed up using a soft brush or cloth.
Stone-resin is very resistant to weather-erosion but it doesn’t age as attractively as bronze or naturally quarried stone. There is no metal content to oxidise (as bronze does) and, being not very porous, it takes many years to harbour mossy growth as natural stone does.
Many people prefer what it looks like when the polish has worn off but, to maintain the appearance it has when new, it would benefit, every year or two, from an application of polish.
Any wax-based polish will do – furniture polish for instance. Successive coats of black and brown shoe polish can be helpful if the colour has faded.
Apply the polish with a brush (a toothbrush will help with get it into crevices) and buff up well between coats with a soft cloth, towel or brush. Two or three coats should be adequate. If the sculpture is large, break the surface up into small areas and polish/buff one area at a time (areas that you can manage in, say, ten minutes). This avoids leaving the polish on the surface for too long (if allowed to go dry/hard on the surface, it is more difficult to buff up and can become streaky).
Stone-resin is a very strong and durable material but it is not unbreakable. Take care not to drop or knock your sculpture on something hard. If the worst happens, contact us about repair. Costs will vary according to the nature of the break but we can repair and restore most damage.
The largest edition I now make is of twenty-five casts. Most are fewer.
The largest bronze edition is of nine. Many pieces have a bronze edition and a stone-resin edition. Almost all editions have one, two or three ‘artist’s casts’ in addition. These are the first casts out of the mould and are used as ‘masters’ from which to work on all the others. They are often sold at the end of the edition. Instead of 4/15 (for instance), an artist’s cast will be marked A/C/15.
The original sculpture can be made of anything (e.g. clay, wax, plaster, polystyrene, wood, cement, resin, stone).
A flexible rubber mould, encased in fibreglass to hold it in shape, is made in several pieces from the original.
If the final sculpture is to be in bronze, a hollow wax is made from this mould and taken to the foundry. Otherwise a cast is made from the mould using a stone-resin mix.
After curing overnight, the cast is removed from the mould; the seams are ground off and the entire surface is ground, sanded and polished.
STONE-RESIN is an amalgam of polyester resin and stone. I use four stones of different colours, ground down to different sized dusts or grits and mixed together in varying proportions.
The base colour comes from a welsh grey limestone and the dominant red speckle from a scottish red granite. The other two stones are a cornish green granite and a white italian limestone.
Maintenance
Bronze needs minimum maintenance. It will weather and age beautifully and will last for many centuries (but it does look even more lovely for the occasional coat of polish).
If kept indoors, stone-resin will need no more than dusting.
Out of doors, dust, grime, bird-droppings etc can be removed with a damp cloth.
The shine will dull in the weather and can be buffed up using a soft brush or cloth.
Stone-resin is very resistant to weather-erosion but it doesn’t age as attractively as bronze or naturally quarried stone. There is no metal content to oxidise (as bronze does) and, being not very porous, it takes many years to harbour mossy growth as natural stone does.
Many people prefer what it looks like when the polish has worn off but, to maintain the appearance it has when new, it would benefit, every year or two, from an application of polish.
Any wax-based polish will do – furniture polish for instance. Successive coats of black and brown shoe polish can be helpful if the colour has faded.
Apply the polish with a brush (a toothbrush will help with get it into crevices) and buff up well between coats with a soft cloth, towel or brush. Two or three coats should be adequate. If the sculpture is large, break the surface up into small areas and polish/buff one area at a time (areas that you can manage in, say, ten minutes). This avoids leaving the polish on the surface for too long (if allowed to go dry/hard on the surface, it is more difficult to buff up and can become streaky).
Stone-resin is a very strong and durable material but it is not unbreakable. Take care not to drop or knock your sculpture on something hard. If the worst happens, contact us about repair. Costs will vary according to the nature of the break but we can repair and restore most damage.