| The next steps in working toward the completion of the bronze piece that I discussed in my blog entries for 11/12/14 and 12/15/14 involved finishing the chase work on the base and then preparing the parts for attachment. The textured top surface and sides of the 5 1/2 inch wide bronze disk base had just a few very small bronze air bubbles that needed to be removed. The underside had 3 gate attachment points that needed to be ground down and smoothed. After drilling a hole through the center of the disk, I buffed all of its surfaces with a medium grit Dremel buffing wheel. My plan was to attach the disk to the figure portion of the sculpture with a threaded rod and nut, so my next step was to use a tap and die to create a threaded hole in the bottom of the small disk at the base of the figure. The tricky part of this was to make the hole deep enough to allow the rod to be inserted securely without it breaking through the top surface of the small disk. Fortunately, the curved structure that the figure was attached to was in the center of the small disk, and because of that I was able to drill to the depth that I needed. I knew that I wanted to elevate the piece, but I wasn't sure how high I wanted it or what I wanted to mount it on. I had a piece of 5/8" thick wenge that I decided could be used for this purpose. Wenge is very dark wood and I felt it would provide an unobtrusive visual 'lift' that the bronze needed. I cut it into a round that was about 3/4" smaller than the bronze disk and drilled a central hole with a recess on the bottom that would allow for the attachment of the nut to the end of the rod. I branded it with my initials and gave it a couple of thin coats of satin polyurethane. Finally I cut the threaded rod to the length needed to extend from the figure through the bronze and wedge base disks, and connected the three pieces. I may eventually change the wooden part of the base, but, for now, I am opting for simplicity. Next I have to make a decision about patina... possibly green... blue-green... hmmm? |     |
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Mounted sculpture is 11 1/4" tall and 5 1/2" wide.
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