Custom Art

Commissioned artwork made for you are unique, one-of-the-kind artistic inventions leaving your memories and story for future generations to ponder and cherish.

Working with Angelika in creating your own customized art work is a very enjoyable and rewarding process. Read what customers have to say: ENDORSMENT. Watch a VIDEO of the process.

The process of making a commissioned sculptural art piece

The process for commissioned sculptural work begins with the design of a small prototype model. The model is created from pictures of the object to be portrayed. If the artwork is created from your imagination the process starts with the creation of a model drawing. The original art work is sculpted from the prototype. Once the model is approved a mold builder will manufacture the molds from which the art work can be cast.

Model Drawing	Small Prototype	Clay Model in Progress	Dr. Dirk Kappeler taking a first look at his just finished sculpture “Ordalie”

Model Drawing of “Harmonie Reflecting”	Small prototype of “Harmonie Reflecting”

Who acquires custom designs?

The custom designs are for private settings, art collections, for commercial display, display in offices or public art or memorial.

• They are made for personal remembrance, to tell a unique story
• To bring you very own imaginative art to life.
• Fantasy art creations that come to life and complete your unique home design and decoration.
• Art for Feng Shui houses to balance the energies of any given space to assure the health and good fortune for people inhabiting it.
• A personalized gift for your valued client or dear friend

Over the last decade Angelika has worked with private clients, art collectors, galleries and interior designers to create commissioned paintings or 3-dimensional artwork. Her works include: Figurative and abstract artworks, symbolic, mystic and fantasy art in Realistic or Surrealistic form, life size 3-dimensional sculptures and statues, portraits, wall reliefs, bas relief or portrait plaque. The art can be designed as functional sculptures such as fountains or designs for unique architectural and home decoration.

Casting Materials and Process

♦ Bronze     ♦ Cold Cast Bronze     ♦ Resin Cast     ♦ Hydrocal®

♦ Bronze

The process to produce bronze sculptures is called lost wax or investment casting. The process is elaborate and the resulting art work is of highest value. It is the preferred medium by art collectors since it has the highest potential of value appreciation over time.

The following steps are involved in a lost wax cast. Once the mold is finished, molten wax is poured into it and swished around until an even coating, usually about 1/8 inch or 3 mm thick, covers the inner surface of the mold. This is repeated until the desired thickness is reached. Another method is filling the entire mold with molten wax, and let it cool, until a desired thickness has set on the surface of the mold. After this the rest of the wax is poured out again, the mold is turned upside down and the wax layer is left to cool and harden. With this method it is more difficult to control the overall thickness of the wax layer. This hollow wax copy of the original model is removed from the mold. The model-maker may reuse the mold to make multiple copies, limited only by the durability of the mold. Each hollow wax copy is then “chased”: a heated metal tool is used to rub out the marks that show the parting line or flashing where the pieces of the mold came together. The wax is dressed to hide any imperfections. The wax now looks like the finished piece. Wax pieces that were molded separately can be heated and attached; foundries often use registration marks to indicate exactly where they go. The wax copy is sprued with a treelike structure of wax that will eventually provide paths for molten casting material to flow and air to escape. The carefully planned spruing usually begins at the top with a wax “cup,” which is attached by wax cylinders to various points on the wax copy. This spruing doesn’t have to be hollow, as it will be melted out later in the process. A sprued wax copy is dipped into a slurry of silica, then into a sand-like stucco, or dry crystalline silica of a controlled grain size. The slurry and grit combination is called ceramic shell mold material, although it is not literally made of ceramic. This shell is allowed to dry, and the process is repeated until at least a half-inch coating covers the entire piece. The bigger the piece, the thicker the shell needs to be. Only the inside of the cup is not coated, and the cup’s flat top serves as the base upon which the piece stands during this process. Prior to silica, a mixture of plaster and fire-proof material such as chamotte was used. The ceramic shell-coated piece is placed cup-down in a kiln, whose heat hardens the silica coatings into a shell, and the wax melts and runs out. The melted wax can be recovered and reused, although often it is simply burned up. Now all that remains of the original artwork is the negative space, formerly occupied by the wax, inside the hardened ceramic shell. The feeder and vent tubes and cup are also hollow. The ceramic shell is allowed to cool, then is tested to see if water will flow through the feeder and vent tubes as necessary. Cracks or leaks can be patched with thick refractory paste. To test the thickness, holes can be drilled into the shell, then patched. The shell is reheated in the kiln to harden the patches and remove all traces of moisture, then placed cup-upwards into a tub filled with sand. Metal is melted in a crucible in a furnace, then poured carefully into the shell. If the shell were not hot, the temperature difference would shatter it. The filled shells are allowed to cool. The shell is hammered or sand-blasted away, releasing the rough casting. The spruing, which are also faithfully recreated in metal, are cut off, to be reused in another casting. Just as the wax copies were chased, the casting is worked until the telltale signs of the casting process are removed, and the casting now looks like the original model. Pits left by air bubbles in the casting, and the stubs of spruing are filed down and polished. (Wikipedia)

The bronze statue is now polished and the patina is added to give the color tone. The final step before delivery is a wax coating (such as Johnson’s Wax) that is hand-polished all over the statue.

Maintaining the beauty of a bronze statue

The best recommendation is to keep the statue clean of debris and to wax the statue at least twice a year to maintain a barrier between the metal sculpture and the elements (weather, water, UV lighting rays to name a few). Keeping the statue waxed is also the best bet to removing graffiti should the unfortunate happen because the graffiti will be on the surface of the wax rather than on the surface of the actual metal. Continuous maintenance may slow down the natural patina aging process (turning green) but unfortunately there is no stopping it especially if the statue is installed in an outdoor location. (sculpture.com)

♦ Cold Cast Bronze or Bonded Bronze

A modern and less expensive method of casting sculptures in which the casting material is a resin mixed with powdered bronze. The finished sculpture has a surface which looks very similar to a traditionally cast bronze although it tends to be much lighter. A patina is applied to the surface similar to bronze cast. The art work can be used indoor and outdoor. To maintain the beauty of the sculpture a wax polish needs to be applied every year. The sculpture weathers in outdoor settings similar to bronze.

♦ Resin Cast

Resin Cast is processed very similarly to cold cast bronze but without the addition of bronze metal. The sculpture is finished with faux patinas.

♦ HYDROCAL®

Cast in this medium are very affordable and make wonderful statues for many years to cherish. HYDROCAL® Is a highly durable brand Gypsum Cement with twice the compression strength as plaster. It is the preferred material for professional interior designers to create delicate but very robust and durable figurines. Sculptures cast in HYDROCAL® are fished in a variety of faux bronze and marble finishes, the patina is hand dry-brushed onto the surface and then very lightly sealed.
HYDROCAL® castings are not meant for outdoor use.

Pricing

Custom are priced are quoted on an individual basis, taking into account design, detail and material of the artwork. Quote will contain the following parts of the commissioned project

• prototype design
• sculpting
• mold building
• casting

Shipping and packing are never included as these vary greatly depending on weight and shipping destination.

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