Ceramic sculpture with bronze finish

I love making sculptures out of found objects such as this sea shell and a dragon I made out of plaster of Paris and then bronzed.

My neighbour’s daughter’s fingers and a clam. I cast her fingers in plaster of Paris.

These are all Mood Critters; little sculptures I make to amuse myself, mainly. They all have a bronze effect finish.
I recently wrote a post featuring a ceramic torso with a bronze effect finish, and I have since had several emails asking me how to achieve that effect.

So I thought I’d share the secret…

You need;
Bronze metal filler powder ( can be found at Tiranti’s)
Graphite powder
Matt clear water based varnish
Brushes
Wire wool, medium grade
A few very good face masks

Mix varnish and bronze filler until you get a creamy consistency, and it covers your bisque fired sculpture.
Wait for the varnish to dry completely; say overnight just to be on the safe side.
This is the colour you will get when it dries;

The bib and crown is painted with a gold glaze and has been glaze fired. There is no reason why you can’t glaze some areas and use the bronze effect on others. The red heart on the Bottom Vase above is glazed.

Next, you mix the graphite powder with varnish, but now you want a slightly thinner consistency. Paint your sculpture and let dry for another 24 hours.
Rub the sculpture with the wire wool to expose the metallic finish. But do wear a good quality face mask and rubber gloves; it is a tedious and very, very long job.

Finally polish your piece with a wax polish.

Ta-da!

www.annakeiller.com

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