Julian Cross  FIPG
Artist Sculptor & Goldsmith

These Sculptures and  Master Patterns are at the head of a production process which sees them finely and expertly reproduced in precious metals or bronze, usually created by the cire perdu or lost wax casting method. Every production stage is carried out personally in the workshop on every single piece so that quality is maintained which is essential for the successful production of beautiful sculptures. Many of these photos look as they are solid models but they are often not quite what they seem. Read on below to discover how some are made, and why they are made that way.

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The Process

The original sculpture is carried out using clay or modern plasticine material. A silicone rubber mould is then applied to the finished model, and when cured and removed from that master model this then becomes the master mould and is used for the next stage, the creating of waxes. It is essential that the waxes that are produced from the master mould and that are going forward to the casting process, be as  lightweight as possible so as to reduce the resulting weight of the final metal casting. Sometimes the waxes need to be as thin as only one millimetre,  this lightweight wax is of critical importance when the finished item is to be made in precious metals like silver or gold.

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So with complex or larger models the "wax pattern" needs to be broken down into component parts. These thin cross-section parts all  fit back together again when they have been finally cast in metal. This re-assembly forms an exact recreation of the original sculpture in all its detail.​

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Have a look at some of the finished pieces on the Gold Silver and Bronze page, many of which started life as just a humble piece of plasticine or clay...

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