Splatter Casting Copper

I created this technique a few years ago when I thought it would be nice to have a bronze casting of Wax Study that I had sculpted back in my college days.  When I found out a single casting would cost me over five thousand dollars in foundry fees, I rethought the plan and tried to create the sculpture myself with tools on hand, using materials with which I had experience.  I had been oxy-acetylene welding since my high school days.  I was familiar with making molds using alginate material for impressions, casting jewelry with the ancient lost wax process, and working with refractory casting materials.  I also had a quantity of scrap copper from a prior plumbing project and copper was somewhat similar to bronze.  Putting that together experimentally, some trial and error, and a steep learning curve, resulted in Jessie Dreams.  I had never seen or heard of another artist using this process so I claimed naming rights and coined the term “Splatter Casting” to describe my technique.  Essentially, I am melting scrap copper over my refractory mold and dripping it in directly, letting the molten metal splatter and fuse to the semi-set mass previously dripped.  These photos illustrate the process I used while making Matt Ponders Three.