A mould of Seve’s hands was cast directly
in order to obtain an exact copy. In this way it allows one
to obtain not only the marks and features of Seve’s
hands but also the precise grip of his club.
In the next step a plaster cast was produced
which was then subjected to a thorough quality control process
to make sure an exact copy was obtained.
This original and unique copy went through
a moulding process in silicon which allowed a later reproduction
in wax of a limited number of sculptures (several moulds were
produced to work with and thus, avoiding wearing them off).
Thereon, the original was destroyed.
LOST WAX CASTING PROCESS
To produce the sculpture the “Lost Wax”
method has been used. We produced as many wax copies as the
number of the limited edition. This process is the only way
that allowed us a precise reproduction of the original art
work. Other methods can produce replicas from very rigid originals
but are less precise because they have to under go a new moulding
process, and therefore loosing details of the original. We
tried to avoid touching-up as much as possible.
Once the wax copies were approved, they were
"sprued" with a treelike structure of wax that eventually
provided paths for molten bronze to flow, while allowing air
to escape. The carefully-planned spruing begun with a wax
"cup," which was attached by wax cylinders to various
points on the wax copy. Once a cast was created it was put
in the dry kiln where the wax melts and runs out.
The fireproof casts were obtained by successive
layers of malaquite; a fireproof clay similar to kaolin. The
clay was applied on to the wax, and the process was repeated
until the desired thickness of the shell was obtained, a shell
that could resist the pouring of bronze at a temperature of
1000 degrees centigrade. This pouring process or fireproof
casting is called “ceramic casting”.
After the casting had cooled several hours,
the shell was carefully broken away, the spuring cut off,
the surface cleaned and the whole was prepared for patinating.
The sculpture obtained its final and harmonious colour by
applying chemicals and heat. After the patina was applied,
a coating of wax was added to give the sculptures their final
touch and shine.
