Here's a nice thing...

Was browsing around for sites related to casting when I stumbled across this picture of a piece by Jim Wade which is sat in my front room as I type (http://www.internationalfe10.com/gallery.php). Toby

A Long week of fun and friendship

 I've just come back from a week's frolics up at the excellent Bullpen Arts Center, working on a series of pieces which have been cast in iron. As I type, three of them are sat alongside me awaiting wire brushing, fettling, chasing and tidying up. Another piece, weighing a good 100lbs, is sat outside as I'll trash the floorboards if I try and bring it in on my own!

Although I didn't really try much new in the way of technique, I learned quite a lot this week. The first conclusion to draw is about the limitations of sodium silicate as a mold binder: large mold elements which get handled regularly are extremely soft by comparison with the equivalent made up from Alpha Set. In fact, some of the mold elements which people were working on would have been simply impossible using sodium silicate. All of the other artists on the course said that they'd had bad experiences using sodium silicate at one time or another, so I'm wondering about investing in a tub or two of Alpha Set. Another clincher for me was the way in which Wez and co. mix theirs up: Unlike the laborious and drill-knackering technique used up at Coalbrookdale of running a drill/plasterer's paddle in the mouth of a bladeless cement mixer, The Bullpen crew simply add a few irregular lumps of iron to the sand and chemicals - these bits flopping around seem to mix everything in wonderfully well. The other top-top picked up from a chap called Casey was to add the catalyst BEFORE the resin. This (despite the John Winters instructions) seemed to result in a much stronger and more even mix which set fantastically solid.

I'd really recommend the Bullpen to any potentially interested parties, be you an artist or a backyard caster - Wez and Helen are lovely people with a fantastic set-up.

More thoughts and tales of what went on - but in the meantime, here are some pictures, expertly snapped by the hand of Mr John Hardy:

and finally...

... before bed - a new and as yet un-named casting in aluminium and copper set on Bath stone poured this weekend and mounted/polished in very short order. This was the wax piece I melted out last session before I went off to Belgium. Despite my concerns that our wood and charcoal melt-out oven wouldn't have got hot enough (maximum temperature I measured was a mere 180oC), it seems to have cast very cleanly. Toby

Next steps...

A very busy week coming up: Its nearly time to go off to The Bullpen to cast up some new work - though lots of other things seem to be getting in the way at the moment (but, it has to be said, in a good way). First off - my mate 'Grinny' Bryn has told me that one of his building clients may well be interested in a bespoke cast iron fire back based on my piece 'Forever Auntumnal'. If I can seal this deal, I should be able to fund the rest of the course. All this depends upon now is Bryn being able to make me up a suitably large flask to cast a HUGE -scratchblock into... This was one of the calls I meant to make today before being side-tracked by other things. (Doh) ... Then I've got to get over to Ma and Pa's to cast up some large lumps of sand suitable as the cores for some carved core work - and I ought really as well to pen out some more detail for what is as yet, very 'back of a fag packet' plans for what I'm actually going to do! I've bought some interesting polystyrene shapes which I'm a mind to work on with the hot-wire as some burn-out pieces and I've also been collecting pictures of organic shapes where trees have grown through iron railings. This is something I'd like to try and replicate - so I have some cage like forms in mind which I'd like to create using a carved core which I'll then plant saplings within so that they grow through the iron and start to conjoin and choke when they become restricted. OK - I'm not being very erudite or clear here - bear with me as its late - maybe the following pictures will start to make what I've got in mind a little clearer...