In between coats of rubber on two of my newest sculptures I decided to weld together this table top nude sculpture I made. A couple of months ago my studio mate and myself decided to purchase a welder. We both are bronze sculptors and it seemed like a smart decision as opposed to paying someone to do what we both know how to do. Fortunately I was taught tig welding by a well known sculptor here in town and can assemble table top pieces as well as life size bronzes, although I'm not very good at it and half the time I don't really know what the hell I'm doing, lol. So far I haven't had any close calls with weld drips running into my arm or leg (knock on wood) so that is good. This sculpture is about 12" high and there were 3 sections to join together as well as 2 core holes to fill in which were about 1" diameter. After I welded it all together I chased (grinded and blended) the welds, sandblasted, and patinaed. This is why bronze sculptures are so dang expensive; TIME CONSUMING! I spent about 2 1/2 hrs from the welding to the patina stages. Well, It is 1am and figure I should get to sleep now.
