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Pod Cast ... Getting the Bugs Out

9/1/2012

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Pod, seeds, & twigs
      Although I generally work in wax when creating a piece that is going to be cast in 
bronze, I also like to explore a variety of combustible found objects and materials. 
I find they can provide both familiar and unusual textures and forms, as well as having the potential be transformed into something totally new and unique.
     I found some interesting pods among
the dried flowers at an arts & crafts store. They were 5 sided and had a woody exterior that had a variety of textures. One end of the pod was pointed and the other had an extended  'collar' where the pod would have been attached to a stem. I also found some lotus flower seed pods that each held many oval seeds. By adding four bent twigs from 
an old  lilac bush, I ended up constructing a long legged, pop-eyed, snout-nosed bug.

Picture
Pod Bug
        I  liked the creature I had created, but  knew that it wouldn't last unless it was cast. The attachment locations for the legs on the underside of the 
bug were not very secure because the interior of the pod was very 'pithy'. The resulting bronze cast of the piece was successful in capturing the details on the surface of the pod and the legs - and the legs were firmly attached. This initial 'test bug', combined with a sizable bronze frog and two antique wooden croquet stakes, then became my sculpture 'After Dark' (see photo on bronze sculpture page of website). The success of the first pod bug led me 
to make and cast two additional bugs. After I patina them, I will mount them on a piece of weathered wood (see
image below) to become the sculpture 'Guardian'.   
             
P.S. There  may also be a few pod 'birds' in my future...     

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                               Bronze Pod Bug                                                                                  Guardian...11"h
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    Author

    Cynthia Smith, Maine artist, originally from Connecticut. Taught art at secondary level for 35 years, retired in 2004. Sculpts in bronze, wood, stone, clay & plaster. Her work can be seen at several mid-coast Maine galleries and shows.

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