Meadows Primary School Sculpture Project Part 1

This project involved working with around 90 year 5 and 6 pupils with a brief to allow 4 classes to contribute to a piece of metalwork to be displayed as part of an exhibition themed on the Industrial Revolution.

Each pupil produced drawings based on the theme and they transferred these onto prepared wax tiles which allowed them to experiment with different carving and modelling techniques. Back at my studio each class's tiles were assembled into panels which would be cast and assembled into a plinth for a display box.

The panels would be cast using a 'cold cast' metal system which uses fine metal powder (in this case iron) with a resin binder. This has a hardener added and is applied directly to the tiles as a paste which begins to harden in around 20 minutes.

The metal/resin paste is built up in several layers with the final layers reinforced with chopped fiber matting to add strength and stiffness. One fully set each cast is removed from the pattern and buffed with abrasive fleece which exposes the metal particles just below the surface and smooths off any sharp edges.

Cast Iron Sculpture : Step by step

Wax master and latex skin mould used to produce a set of  paraffin  wax patterns for casting 

The master pattern for this piece was sculpted in modelling wax. This is a blend of various different waxes,  which is hard enough for small models to be self supporting and take fine detail but still soft enough to sculpt easily. I made a latex skin mould from the master and used that to produce half a dozen pattens for the sand moulds which would be used to cast the iron.

Pattern coated with graphite release agent in with one half of a bonded sand  mould

The mould material is a fine silica sand which is set with a two part resin system. Because the mould is rigid careful attention needs to be paid to part lines and undercuts. The part lines are established using a bed of oil sand which is carefully compacted around one half of the pattern.

Bonded sand mould dusted with graphite, with keys in place and ready to have the second half of the mould rammed 

The mould is constructed in a wooden box, the resin sand need to be rammed quite hard over the pattern to ensure that is picks up all of the surface detail and is free from any voids. A layer of graphite powder between the various parts of the mould prevents them from sticking together. Once the first half of the mould is set it is turned over and the oil sand is carefully scraped and brushed out. The mould box reassembled and, with a dusting of graphite, it's ready from the second half to be rammed.

Mould opened up 

The two halves of the mould are carefully separated and the pattern removed, keys cut into the mould surface ensure that it can be put back together accurately.

Mould with gates and vents carved into the hardened resin sand 

With all of the parts of the mould made the gating system can be carved directly into the sand mould. Gates (on the left in this picture) allow metal to flow into the mould and vents allow gas to escape. Any gas trapped in the mould is likely to cause porosity, incomplete filling and other casting defects.

The final stages of preparation are to pain the internal surface of the mould with graphite powder suspended in alcohol. The alcohol is burnt off leaving a fine layer of graphite which helps to protect the fine surface detail of the mould from the intense heat of casting. The the mould is reassembled, clamped together with bolts and wooden yokes and finally has pour cups added.

Pouring a set of moulds 

Running and iron furnace is a complex process which requires close cooperation and teamwork.

An iron casting straight from the mould  with sprue still attached 

The finished piece ground and polished on an oiled hardwood base

AWoodlands Primary School Sculpture Project : Part 2 – Fabrication

With the concept design well under way the next task was to start work on the fabrication. By starting work on the frames and blank panels I could continue to develop the designs while working on the fabrication.

In making the frames accurate technical drawings were essential  since they would need to be a good fit with the panels themselves. The frames themselves were made from hot rolled steel angle section with corner plates which would both stiffen the frame and provide convenient mounting points for anchor bolts into the walls.

The first job was to cut the parts for the frames, those for the smaller panels were made from 40x40x3mm steel angle, with 50x50x4mm steel angle for the frame for the large panel. All the individual parts were cut to length and mitred using a bench mounted circular saw.

A set of cut parts

All the parts for one frame together

Cleaning up the corner plates with a grinder

Frame and panel clamped together for drilling

One of the smaller panels welded together

Detail of one of the corners tack welded in place, tack welding fixes the pieces together securely putting the minimum amount of heat into the work. This allows the pieces to be positioned accurately and reduces the risk of distortion when the final welds are put in place.

The pattern for the large tree panel was traced onto a full sized steel panel using an enlargement projector. It was then cut out of the panel using a freehand plasma cutter. The main body of the tree design was then welded back onto the sheet to form a relief. The face side was TIG welded to create the neatest possible weld seam all the way around the outline of the tree.

The smaller panels were made in a similar way. Some used stencils created by enlarging drawings with a projector, others were drawn directly onto the steel plate, working from reference images.

The centerpiece of the installation is the large 1m x 2m panel depicting a stylised tree in relief. This piece was by far the most technical demanding of the series and required a carefully planned sequence of cuts and welds to create the graceful outward arc of the trunk. 

Woodlands Primary School Sculpture Project : Part 1 - Concept

In May of this year I was commissioned to create a sculptural installation for a brand new school building in Telford, Shropshire.

After an initial meeting with the client we decide to use the school's name of Woodlands as the central theme of the project, naturally this made native trees and plants a clear choice.

In terms of format I quickly came to the decision that a series of wall sculptures in the form of panels would be ideal. This was suggested by both the inviting large walls of the new building and the fact that the distinctive outlines of the leaves of many native tree species looked like they would work very well in silhouette.

As well as finding as many stock photographs as possible I felt it was important to really get a feel for how trees and leaves looked and felt in the flesh as it were, so I took a lot of walks, collecting specimens, taking photographs and just absorbing the forms and textures of natural woodland. This quickly lead to a whole series of sketches as I gradually refined and developed my ideas.I was looking particularly for leaf and branch shapes which had distinctive and characterful silhouettes and shapes.

With this decision made and ideas for the design and compositional elements well under way,  the next task was to consider the practical engineering implications of the content. I decide that rectangular panels with designs in relief and negative silhouette would be ideal. This approach would allow me to cut out the intricate and delicate designs that the forms of the leaves I was studying suggested while keeping a structure which was still robust, durable and, above all, safe.

Rather than simply bolt the flat panels to the walls I wanted to use a fixing method which would give a bit more depth and contrast to the wall. By spacing out the panels on steel frames I gave myself a lot more flexibility with the design and construction of the mechanical fixings without worrying about their visual impact and keeping the whole thing looking clean and refined. Spacing the panels out from the walls would also be an effective way to use shadow to emphasise the leaf shapes that I wanted to use.

 I also realised that I wanted to create a dramatic centrepiece which would really sum up the mood of the whole installation and act as a focal point for the whole project. The obvious answer was to use the image of a single tree. After playing with several ideas I ended up with something which was quite stylised but still had a really organic feel and added an extra dimension to the more naturalistic renderings of the leaves.

I eventually came up with the design below. It went through quite a long process of evolution right up to the point when I was transferring the stencil onto the steel plate ready to be cut out. One thing I was particularly keen to get right was the sense of proportion. As is was such a large panel (1m x 2m) I wanted it to have some sense of upward movement to give a feeling of growth and not end up being too squat or heavy.

Sculpture for Schools Program

After working on several sculpture projects with schools and educational organisations over the last few years I've come to realise just how valuable these sorts of projects can be in generating enthusiasm and creativity in young people at every stage of their education.

For me one of the big attractions of sculpture as a medium is it's physical presence and permanence, achieving a tangible and long lasting end product which can really contribute to the sense of identity of a school community.

I also feel that it's extremely valuable to provide a direct insight into the manufacturing process itself. To see a project develop from an initial idea into something real and permanent adds a new dimension to the traditional academic learning process.

With this in mind I've developed a commissioning process aimed specifically at schools, designed to make the whole process as transparent and accessible as possible. This places the creative process at the heart of the project and encourages and encourages the whole school to get closely involved through discussions and workshops and give them a strong sense of ownership of the finished work.

The following two images come from a project undertaken in collaboration with a primary school in Shropshire and illustrate how pupil's work can become an important part of the final work. 

Student Drawing

Finished lizard sculpture