The Wax Process

The Wax Casting Process
The silicone molds are used to create wax figures: molten wax is painted and poured into the negative rubber mold, producing a perfect positive copy of the original sculpture. The waxes are created hollow so that the finished bronze will be manageable in weight. The thickness is usually between 1/8 and 3/16 of an inch depending on the size and scope of the work.

The wax casting is removed from the mold. The positive copy will have seam lines where the parts of the mold meet together similar to those you might see on a plastic toy soldier or a chocolate Easter bunny. Our trained artisans hand finish the wax pattern to original perfection by dressing the wax seams down to the surface of the sculpture. Each wax casting is treated as though it were an original work of art. Often the artist will come and inspect the dressing before it is moved on to the next phase of casting to ensure that we have captured every detail to their exacting standards. We use two kinds of wax - a soft wax for the surface and a hard wax for support. We also recycle the wax from our burn-out and formulate our own unique blend of SHIDONI casting wax.