CERAMIC SHELL BRONZE CASTING – THE TRANSFORMATIVE POWER OF FIRE AND THE FURNACE

The Faculty of Telšiai (Vilnius Academy of Arts) is hosting a Cirrus express course: “Ceramic shell bronze casting – The Transformative Power of Fire and the Furnace”.

Teachers: David Snoo Wilson and Tom Railton (Royal College of Art, UK)
Level: BA/MA
Teaching period: from the 8th April to 19th April 2019.
ECTS: 3 ECTS
Number of available place for Cirrus students: 4
Muziejaus st. 29a, Telšiai (270 km away from Vilnius), Lithuania

The Jewellery and Metal department of the Academy of Arts will host a workshop on the process of lost-wax casting in bronze, using the ceramic shell method. The course will be taught by David Snoo Wilson and Tom Railton, formerly of the Royal College of Art foundry. Students from all Cirrus institutions are invited to attend the course.

Course Content:

The materials will cost 15 Euro for each participant after arrival.

The course aims to provide an introduction an understanding to the methods and materials of ceramic shell bronze casting; students will be guided in safely taking their sculpted or cast wax form towards a finished, small bronze object or sculpture. This includes:

-Overview of the foundry process
-Mould making
-Wax working
-Using ceramic shell for investment
-How to set up a small foundry
-pouring of hot metal
-finishing and basic patination

The course is led over ten days, allowing time to experiment with materials and process, so the scale of the sculptures should be manageable within the time: the size of a hand or smaller. Students will develop their ideas, each applying the principles to their own practice towards a new work in the medium, discussing and displaying them together.

Students are asked to direct their work towards the chosen theme: ‘Alchemy and Foundry: The Transformative Power of Fire and the Furnace’. During the course, talks relating to the content will take place.

Applications should include your name, surname, home school, study year and level, a motivation statement (max 250 words), a link to your portfolio and CV and phone number.
All applications should be sent to r.vaitkute@gmail.com

Deadline to apply: the 6^th of March, 2019
Decisions on selection are announced by 12^thof March, 2019

About the teachers:

David Snoo Wilson is a founder and artist that has been teaching  bronze casting for the last 10 years, most recently at the Royal College of Art, London, UK. Uniquely at the heart of his studio practice is the beautiful alchemy of melting metal. Specialising in bell casting and surrounding technology, he uses a mobile foundry to cast bells in many locations outside of the traditional industrial set up, creating a spectacle and a show.

Tom Railton is a multidisciplinary Sculptor who has exhibited internationally; he currently works for the Royal College of Art and teaches throughout the UK.