one of three ‘grumpus bumpus’ sculptures, in situ
Our bronze sculptures for the Sunnyside Conservatory in San Francisco have been cast, cleaned up and are ready for patination. We met with the people at Berkeley’s Artworks Foundry the other day to discuss options. I would love to leave the sculptures ‘raw’ and let the bronze gain a natural patina through oxidation, touch and decay/erosion, but the air of San Francisco is very saline and might tarnish the raw metal into verdigris too quickly. During the Rennaissance, bronze sculptures were typically buried to gain an ‘antique patina’, a process intended to imitate the sculpture of ancient Greece and Rome, which were often retrieved from underground or beneath the sea. Patina on bronze is now usually achieved through the application of acids and chemicals, and the options for surface finish are staggeringly numerous. We’ll go with a very natural finish, darkening the recesses and leaving the high spots bright, with no attempt to disguise the material.
‘cakesydillo’ sculpture, ready for patina
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