1

The wax model of the Italian village is ready and goes to the bronze foundry to be moulded and cast.

2

Ankie Custers working on attaching the casting and air extraction ducts to the wax model.

3

The sculpture with the casting and air ducts attached is ready to be put into the final mould. The plaster-soaked wax model then goes into an oven at 650 degrees Celsius, where all the wax is burned out of the mould. After cooling, it is ready for pouring in the hot bronze. After all, the sculpture and all channels are present in the mould as a hollow shape due to the burning process.

4

The hollow mould is carefully filled with bronze. As the photo clearly shows, the casters have to protect themselves extensively from the very hot bronze. In the crucible, the molten bronze is still at least 1100 degrees Celsius! To cope with the high force during the expansion of the casting, wooden plates with glue clamps are placed on the plaster mould.

5

While the bronze has not yet cooled, the mould around the solidified bronze is removed. The village comes out of the mould with the channels also cast in bronze.

6

The still-hot casting is forced to cool by spraying it with cold water or dipping it in a tub of water, which creates a red patina on the casting skin. If cooling occurs too soon after casting, the casting may crack.

7

Finishing the sculpture is another labour-intensive job. All channels have to be sawed off carefully to avoid damaging the sculpture. Wherever the attachment of a channel has been, the skin has to be touched up until this is no longer visible. Finally, the sculpture is fixed to the stone. As can be seen in the photo, the remains of the plaster cast are still visible on the sculpture’s cast skin.

8

Finally, the sculpture is fixed to the stone. As can be seen in the photo, the remains of the plaster cast are still visible on the sculpture’s cast skin.