Delivery

Some take a first glance and an early photo opportunity. Then we make a panther fly. The panther is mounted on the pedestal. It is almost ready for the unveiling.




About Bridgette Mongeon

Packing a cat

We wake up very early to get the panther ready for the trip to her home. After loading up the panther into the uhaul we have a little bit of a problem getting the trailer out of the foundry. The wet ground from the previous rains make it difficult. But soon we are on our way.



About Bridgette Mongeon

The coloring of a panther.

Once the sculpture is complete and approved by the artist, the foundry does one final sandblasting and then begins the patination. Patinas are created by putting chemicals on the hot bronze. Once the patination is on a coat of wax is put over the entire sculpture. The sculpture will have to be waxed on a regular basis to maintain its finish.


About Bridgette Mongeon

Pieces of panther

Each of the many pieces of bronze must be welded together. The foundry man is a master craftsmen, he must match the texture. The artist monitors the entire process being sure everything is going together the way it should.


About Bridgette Mongeon

In the cavity where the wax once was, molten bronze is poured. Several pours will be necessary to get the many, many pieces of bronze needed for the panther.

About Bridgette Mongeon

Burning out the shells

Each of the shells is put into a very hot oven and the wax is burned out. Meanwhile bronze is melted in a crucible. In less than two weeks the panther must be together.

About Bridgette Mongeon

Dipping the waxes

Each wax is gated up. That means that they have pour cups and sprues added to each wax piece. The sprues help the gasses to escape when the metal is poured. When they are gated up, each piece is dipped several times in a slurry mixture. There is no hurrying this process. Time is taken to create a good ceramic shell. The ceramic mixture is both inside and outside of the wax pieces.