Art City Bronze and Cherrylion – The Dream Team

Who is Art City Bronze?

Formally known by the name Baer Bronze, Art City Bronze is the foundry that we here at Cherrylion use to cast our work in bronze. Even though the foundry is located in Utah, over a thousand miles away from Atlanta’s Cherrylion Studios, they are well worth the distance. Art City Bronze’s work is an integral part of our process to deliver you your sculpture with the highest quality.

The process of metal casting is extremely laborious, and working near molten metal dressed head to toe in leather and other PPE is not the most pleasant either; but all of that doesn’t stop the artists at Art City Bronze from creating beautifully made casts for us at Cherrylion.

From our studio to theirs

The process begins with our clients. Martin Dawe, the owner of Cherrylion Studios, has a great sense of artistry, and he works diligently with the clients to ensure the commission goes smoothly. After the initial consult, Martin will begin sculpting. When finished, the piece is shown to our client for approval. That is when the mold making process begins; using rubber and plaster a mold is made to be sent to the foundry for the bronze process to begin. 

A bit about Art City Bronze’s process

Their process is centered around the lost wax method, it’s an ancient method utilized still to this day. Art City Bronze starts by filling the rubber molds Cherrylion made with molten wax. The wax in this liquid state will capture even the finest details so the artistry is not lost in the metal casting phase. Once cooled, the wax is chased – what is defined as cleaning up the excess wax or flashing from the mold – then sprues are added to create vents for the bronze to travel through. This is a mandatory step to ensure the finest points, like the fingertips of a figure, do not form air pockets that prevent the mold from being filled. After all these elements are prepared, then comes the “slurry” or shell to coat the wax. This shell is formed by a variety of materials, but is mostly clay and sand. The newly cast wax is dipped several times in the slurry to form the thin shell that is used in the final stage of the bronze casting process.

What gives “the lost wax method” its name? It’s from our final step before the bronze is introduced, this step requires the wax to be melted out of the shell completely, therefore, the wax is lost. With only the shell left, the casting may begin!

At 2000 degrees Fahrenheit, the molten metal is poured into each of the empty shells to then cool. The artists at Art City Bronze clean up the sections and weld all the pieces back together forming Cherrylion’s original sculpture. This part of the process is where the majority of the cost comes from. For example, the Martin Luther King Jr. Statue located in Atlanta, Georgia, was cast in twenty pieces to be welded back together. They meticulously assemble each piece by welding the seams to perfection, erasing the evidence that the sculpture was assembled in sections.  After the patina – which is the color the bronze will be – is chosen by the client, the work at Art City Bronze is complete.

You can read more about Art City Bronze’s process on their home page Here

Below are some examples of Cherrylion’s sculptures at Art City Bronze