Page 64 - The Hunt - Winter 2022

Bronze has been favored through
the centuries for its relatively low melting temperature, malleability and resistance to corrosion. Although there’s more than a single process for making metal sculptures, the standard one is for the artist to create the original in clay. From this, rubber molds are made. Those are then filled with wax to make a duplicate of the clay version, either whole or in individual parts. The more complex the sculpture, the more parts.
The wax sculpture is repeatedly dipped into liquid porcelain until a one-inch shell builds up. After drying, the porcelain is fired,
melting the wax (the lost-wax process) and creating a mold of the original. Molten metal heated in the furnace is then poured from pots into the porcelain molds, which are anchored to a bed of sand on the foundry floor.
In a series of finishing steps, the channels (or sprues) where the metal flows into the molds are removed, the parts are assembled and finished, and a patina is added. All of this is time-consuming, with the artist (in most cases) working closely with the craftspeople to ensure that the finished bronze is in harmony with the clay original.
On this day, J. Clayton Bright has driven in from his Unionville studio to witness his work being poured. “I never try to redo a piece at the foundry,” he says, noting that it’s not a place to extend the creative process.
One of his hound sculptures is a consign- ment. For another creation, he’s doing a limited-edition series of eight. All are in the finishing stages. “I work at Laran in three two-hour segments,” he says. “I discovered that it’s best to do segments, because if I make a mistake, it helps me from repeating it.”
Bright has been with Laran from the beginning—or even before it. “I’ve been
Laran Bronze founder Larry Welker.
62 THE HUNT MAGAZINE winter 2022-23