The August Meeting - a Visit to Coates and Wood

The August meeting was held on Tuesday the 12 at the Coates and Wood specialist sculpture foundry in Northcote.

Coates and Wood was started in 1999 by Ewen Coates and Mal Wood who are still very much hands

Ewen Coates explaining the finer details

of the wax application process.

on today. Our group was given a comprehensive explanation of the whole process by Ewen that was followed later by a metal pour by Mal who had arranged the pour to coincide with our visit.

Coates and Wood are a full service sculpture foundry specializing in moulding and casting in bronze or aluminium for Australian and International artists. Some of these artists include, Lisa Roet, Inge King and Ken Martin to name just a few.

Coates and Wood are long time supporters of the ASV and contribute a prize to the Annual and Awards Exhibition held a month after our visit, was judged by Geoffrey Bartlett and won by Jackie Mackinnon with her wax sculpture, Garden of Eden. Our President Gillian Govan, won this years prestigious Margaret Gunnersen William Hoggan Thomas Award with her bronze sculpture "Grace", moulded and cast by Coates and Wood.

Moulding is the first step in the lost wax process. After the artist has presented the original sculpture which can be in a variety of materials, the mould will be made in whatever material Ewan and Mal decides is the most suitable. This can be plaster, silicone rubber, to blanket moulds or lightweight fiberglass moulds with silicone inlays. The mould is then used to make the wax positive. The quality of the final sculpture depends on the faithfulness of the mould to the original artist's sculpture.

Mal Wood (left) in charge of the

all important metal pour.

The wax model or positive is then encased in a heat resistant refractory mould which is subjected to heat which burns out the wax which is "lost" leaving behind a cavity in the form of the original wax which can then be filled with molten metal to complete the cast. This ancient technique developed by the Chinese 3000 BC can reproduce details as fine as the artists fingerprint. Patination is the final process to complete and colour the bronze sculpture. A wide variety of oxides are applied with heat to give the surface an aged look, with a wide variety of colours and textural effects available. Coates and Wood are able to match samples of patination supplied by the customer. The final stage is the application of a wax or lacquer finish to seal the surface to prevent any further oxidizing.

Further details can be obtained from the web site:

www.coatesandwood.com.au

Coates and Wood Fine Art Foundry

Factory 2 / 239 Separation Street Northcote 3070 Tel 9489 7810

Report by Gordon Robertson