Start 15-5-2021, on the pedestal 2-2-2024.
Inspiration
As an experiment to see if making bird images is really something for me, also for a longer period of time, I made this first sculpture: a male blackbird, ready to defend his territory.
I find blackbirds very beautiful and interesting in their behavior. They often nest in the garden and then come to show off their young. They’ve become real “friends”.
Position of the sculpture
Design
First, I sketched the stance and proportions. The stance was made a bit more pronounced and menacing than you usually see with a blackbird, but it adds just that little something extra to the sculpture.
Armature
Then the armature, made of wire and iron rod, is nice and sturdy. The wire wraps around the iron rod make the wax adhere better.
Modeling
Next, sculpt the blackbird onto the armature. While sculpting, it became clear that the wings and tail required extra strength, so I added extra wire to the armature. The armature for the legs was too thick, so I converted the wire from double to single wire here:
The final result in wax:
I want the birds to feel “light” because they are actually very light! I made therefore openings in the body:
Then to the bronze caster
I didn’t intend to have this first bird cast at all. It was mainly meant to see if this hobby was a good fit for me! I decided to have it cast in bronze anyway, partly to better understand the rest of the process.
Then a mold had to be made, because if iron wire is mixed with the bronze, it will rust. You have to use brass, for example, or a material that burns during the casting process!
It was my first wax bird sculpture, and I had no significant experience with the subsequent steps of creating a bronze cast. So I asked the bronze caster to make the mold and the wax cast, shape the cast and pour the bronze, chiseling and patinate the cast, and install the pedestal pin! See the result:
Immediately after casting. Photo by the bronze caster:
Chiselled, patinated and on the pedestal:
Evaluation
Creating the sculpture was fun, and so was the result! I received encouraging feedback from my own circle. In short, I’ll continue making bird sculptures. On to the next one.