#132, welding bronze

One of the more important steps in the bronze casting process is tig welding. Tig welding is a delicate welding technique (compared with mig welding) that uses a long bronze welding rod held in one hand while you create an electric arc with the tungsten electrode torch held in the other hand. Argon gas is used as the shielding gas that helps to transfer the heat from the electrode to the bronze as well as protects the welded area from oxygen which can cause problems.

While there are many technical details that one can learn about welding, I don't think it is really necessary to know to be a good welder of ones own work. The main thing is that the welds are good and strong (especially for larger monumental works) and you use the right welding rod for the metal you are welding.

Below are some examples of my monuments being welded together:

Paganini by Sutton Betti

Master Swimmer by Sutton Betti

Master Swimmer by Sutton Betti

Visionary by Sutton Betti and Dan Glanz

Founding Father by Sutton Betti

#131, Rodin Museum

On Sunday April 16, 2017 I visited the Musee Rodin in Paris for the first time as part of a 10 day trip where I visited parts of Germany and Paris with my mom, step dad and brother. In Paris, we were fortunate to be staying at an apartment/hotel along the river Seine that was walking distance to the Louvre, Notre Dame Cathedral, the Rodin Museum as well as various other sites. My goal during my short 3 day stay in Paris was to visit 1) the Louvre and the 2) the Rodin museum to absorb as much art as I could possibly see. If there was time for anything else I would join my family. Because it was such a short stay I had to plan carefully so I wouldn't regret my time there since there is so much art to see in Paris. I ended up visiting the Musee Rodin for about 5 hours absorbing as much as I could at the 7 acre sculpture garden and the old sculpture studio of Rodin (aka the hotel Biron, as it was called in Rodins time). The 18th century mansion was where Rodin worked towards the last 9 years of his life and donated all of his sculptures to the government if they would agree to turn the hotel Biron and the Villa des Brillants at Meudon (where he lived outside of Paris) into a museum. The two museums opened in 1919, two years after his death.