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-What's the time frame to
produce an average piece?
Unfortunately, there is no "average piece".
Every piece is unique and has its own individual set of
demands and problems to be solved. That said, a typical
portrait or small figure might take about two to three
months to deliver finished, a full size figure might take
up to six months or more to complete. Very small work
can often be done quickly. This all assumes that the sculptor
can begin work immediately and has no other projects in
the works, which may be the case, but often is not. we
produce high-quality work, and that takes some time.
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-Why is sculpture so expensive compared to other art?
Unlike a painting, drawing, or print, making a sculpture
is a large, industrial process as well as an artistic
one. While a sculptor may be able to make a clay model
in a short amount of time, that's only the first step
in a very lengthy production process, even to make a one-of-a-kind
piece.
While figure and portrait sculpture often has a relatively
high price tag, sculptors often joke among themselves
about making minimum wage or less per hour, simply because
of the massive amount of skilled labour necessary to produce
a piece. It's important to remember too, that bronze sculpture
is incredibly durable, long-term investment, and will
last literally thousands of years, practically without
maintenance. So, if a $30,000 monument stands for even
thirty or sixty years, the cost spreads out quite well,
if you'd like to look at it that way.
For more information on the production process, please
read the next question...
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-What's the process involved in creating a realistic sculpture?
After discussing the intent of the piece with the client,
the scuptor will produce one or several sketches or models.
For a larger piece, this may be a fairly involved process.
Once everyone is satisfied with the model of the planned
piece, the sculptor will construct a metal armature engineered
to hold the weight of the soft modelling clay. The sculptor
will do the actual sculpting of the piece over a period
of weeks or months depending on the scale, then get the
approval of the client on the final clay piece. Then a
mold is made of the clay piece by the sculptor or a skilled
artisan he hires. This often damages or destroys the clay
original.
If working in stone, a plaster model is made from the
mold, which is then exhaustively measured and these measurements
transferred to a block of stone by drilling many holes
at certain precise depths and locations all around the
piece. The stone is carved down to just above these drilled
depth markers, then the actual carving begins and the
piece is painstakingly reproduced exactly, again, either
by the sculptor or more commonly today, by a hired skilled
artisan.
If working in bronze, a thin, hollow wax model is made
from the mold whch is then worked over and has casting
channels or "sprues" attached, surrounding it
in a kind of cage. This wax model, sprues and all, is
covered in a hard plaster or ceramic shell, then cooked
in a kiln, where the wax boils and eventually evaporates,
leaving the hollow shell behind. Into this shell, white-hot
molten bronze is quickly poured and allowed to cool. Once
cool, the shell is smashed exposing the final sculpture,
which must still be sanded, tooled and welded to produce
a smooth, attractive piece. With the addition of a metal
coloring or patina, the sculpture is complete.
If working in the more modern and economical but less
durable cold-cast bronze or cultured marble, a resin and
stone powder or bronze powder mixture can be poured directly
into the mold to produce a near-finished piece, resulting
in the much lower production cost of these methods.
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-Do you do your own bronze / stone work?
It's is point of pride among many sculptors to work their
own stone or bronze, but not for me. While I can carve
or work metal, I'd rather concentrate on the modelling
of the actual sculpture. Realistic modelling of sculpture
and the artistic composition of three-dimensional work
are already extraordinarily technically demanding skills
that one can easily spend a lifetime mastering, much more
difficult than drawing or painting, and I would rather
spend my energy on that pursuit and the higher quality
work it allows me to produce than on perfecting my stone
or metal-working technique. The Japanese say "If
you chase two rabbits, you will catch neither", and
that was never truer than here. The artisans I work with
have spent years honing their metal-crafting skills, just
as I have spent those same years honing my sculpting skills.
I cannot work their chosen materials better than they
can, and it would be arrogant to think I could. I trust
them deeply, and work very closely to direct them on any
piece. I know that together, we produce much stronger
work than we could separately.
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-Why do sculptors all use bronze instead of some other
metal or material?
Bronze is a mixture of Copper and Tin that when melted
together, amazingly, becomes much stronger and harder
than either metal is capable of on its own. It's relatively
easy to pour into a mold and to work. It doesn't rust
or crumble like iron or concrete. It's just about imposible
to destroy. Unless it is melted down to make bullets or
swords, as has been the fate of a lot of ancient bronze
sculpture, there's no reason why it won't last for millenia
without maintenance. If a material was ever created especially
for making sculpture, bronze is it.
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-I saw an editioned bronze sculpture online for a lot
less than what you charge. Why do you charge so much if
they can charge so little?
There are three possibilities here:
1- Someone's trying to get rid of a nice sculpture without
regard for its value. You've found a great deal and should
snap it up.
2- Although the vendor or online gallery may claim the
sculpture is bronze, it may really be "cold-cast
bronze" which is still attractive and looks very
much like real bronze, but is in fact mostly plastic and
not nearly as durable or expensive to produce. We also
offer cold-cast bronzes as an economical alternative,
but we're up-front with customers about what they actually
are.
3- Many real foundry-cast bronzes are currently being
produced in China and South-East Asia from stolen molds
and under questionable labour conditions. The real artist's
name is often changed to a fake Italian name and re-signed
as such. The actual artist has received no money for this
knock-off piece, and it is unlikely to be well made, or
worth anything in the future. If you see a store or gallery
that seems to have a lot of real bronzes for incredibly
cheap, they are very likely the illegal, stolen, mass-reproduced
sculptures of this ilk. You pay for what you get.
We produce very high-quality work, and that requires
a certain amount of time, skill, and care that lower-quality
work does not demand. That said, our prices are really
pretty average. It's always possible to find someone to
do a job for less, but for something as serious an investment
of time, money and self as a piece of art, if you're going
to do it, you ought to do it the best you can.
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-Are there ways to reduce the labour and costs involved
in commissioning an original piece?
The simpler a piece is, the easier it will be to produce,
and thus the cheaper. While this may not hold up in the
blue-chip gallery art world where a blank canvas or a
found piece of junk with the right signature can sell
for hundreds of thousands or millions of dollars, it generally
does in the realm of commisioned artwork. Thus, a nude
sculpture will likely be cheaper than a dressed one, a
simply dressed one cheaper than one with a flowing cape,
sword, rifle and helmet, etc.. The more compact the form
of the sculpture, the fewer protruding elements, and of
course most significantly, the smaller a piece is, the
cheaper it will be to model and to cast, but again, every
piece is different.
Using cheaper final materials can also make a difference
in cost, but these materials are much easier to break,
damage or vandalize and are generally not warrantied,
so you may end up paying several times to repair or replace
damaged work. In addition, using cheaper materials does
not reduce the price of producing the original sculpture,
which constitutes the majority of the cost. |
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-Have questions that aren't addressed here?
You can find more details elsewhere on this site about
materials, working
process, and pricing, as
well as employment opportunities for models.
The resources section contains
valuable free articles for both patrons of the arts as
well as aspiring sculptors. We're always happy to hear
from you though, so please, don't hesitate to contact
us any time with any questions you might have about what
we do here.
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