A-N Artist Bursary – The Weight of Bronze

I spent the summer making moulds, printing 3D objects and cutting foam.  I decided that, as well as making the hand grips from start to finish, I wanted to see what happened if I used different materials as well as bronze.

To prepare for the residency, I decided to get one of my hand pieces made and to go and see the process.  Paul Kennedy Studio, a wonderful small foundry in Shropshire took me through everything so I was clear what I needed to do and what I needed to prepare before I went to make the most of my two weeks.

In June I was excited to judge the Royal Society of Sculptors bronze award supported by Milwyn Art Foundry. This prize is given to a graduating student from the RA, provides 3-6 month space and support at the foundry, £3000 of materials and a show of work at the Society. Alex Davies of Milwyn and I were looking for a student who would push the boundaries of bronze either physically or conceptually and were delighted to choose Charlie Fegan. His work can be seen here

The Scottish Sculpture Workshop is an amazing place in the North of Scotland, which provides artists with the rare combination of being able to both think and make.  It is set is a small village next to the Cairngorms, a two day drive for me from London and far away from everything.  There are rooms on site along with a foundry, iron casting, a forge and metal, wood and ceramic workshops and wonderful technical support from Eden Joly and Uist Corrigan.

The Kingdom of Benin has a long tradition of bronze casting which has been passed down and still exists today.  This video shows the process.