Paul Harvey process and finish

Process and Finish

Design and sculpting

The work is first designed and sketched to form the basis of the future work, it is then translated into clay. Clay allows a lot of freedom to put the original ideas on paper into a three dimensional form, and the design will usually at this stage develop further sometimes changing completely but more often than not staying generally within the parameters of the original sketch, this process can take from days to weeks depending on how much the design has changed from the original concept. When and only when I am totally happy with the design the refinement of the sculpture can begin.

The advantages clay has in the design process are however a disadvantage when it comes to the refinement of the work, particularly for my style of work, the hard lines and shapes that come from the Art deco influence my work has are not easily achieved with soft clay, and if the work requires it, it will at this stage be cast in plaster which is then carved to achieve the desired finish.

Casting.

Another mould of the piece of work is now made, within which a variety of materials can be cast, from bronze to plaster depending to a large extent on where the sculpture is intended for and also of course the final finish and cost.

This collection of work is made predominately from a method known as cold casting, which involves a variety of ground materials such as bronze iron copper and marble being poured into the mould of the original piece of work using resin as their rebinding agent.

The resulting cast is then worked on in exactly the same way as pure bronze casts are by chasing the work back until the metal or marble is revealed, after this process in the case of metals they can then be patinated to a variety of colours and finishes after which they are sealed and waxed.

All these works can be put outside but the patination on all metal finishes, with the exception of black mixed metals will change, it would therefore be preferable if you want to retain the original finish of these pieces, to keep them inside where the finish will remain the same. All marble pieces are fine outside and can be cleaned with soapy water and re-waxed with clear wax if necessary.