Fish Stories by Richard Arfsten
Fish Stories is about a pair of Siamese Fighting Fish. They decided to be friends since they lived in the same fish tank with a piece of glass separating them. Continually slamming into the glass to get at the other fish got old after while, not to mention the hurt and continual bruises on their lips. They learned to swim in-synch making it pleasant after a while. This way they could still be macho with no pain.
This was one of the first larger sized pieces of lost foam I tried. I buried it deep, upside down with a support, and a base as part of the composition. You cannot ram the sand hard next to the foam like you do with a wood pattern in green petro bond sand (an oily loose sand that packs like a snow ball) or the foam pattern breaks up. I was being gentle. After the metal cooled I pulled it out of the sand mold and the whole thing was deformed and covered with flashing. Those are little fin like forms that happen on the corners if the sand is not compacted dense enough.
Being the lazy, frugal, inquisitive guy that I am, I was fascinated by the results. I usually do not chase, (grind) my work. I like to see and show the processes of how something is made. I am also an inventor so I do all my own casting so I can experiment to alter the anticipated results and I want to see the record of the deviation.
The great part about making art is if it does not come out according to the plan it is not the end of the world. If it does not work as planned I just change the title and make up a new story ... ta da! So instead of being Guppies they turned into Siamese Fighting Fish.
I always say "Failure is your Friend." There are life lessons to be learned from it. Examine it, embrace it and set yourself up to experience it.
In addition to that, the major concept that I have lived my life by is to ask the question, "What if?" When something does not work as anticipated, examine it and try to answer that question. If it does not look dangerous, try it! Failure is the great teacher. Examine why it did not work, so you can learn from it.
This piece will come with a thick stone base that is polished on top and rough cut on the sides.
Size: 18"H x 18"W
This was one of the first larger sized pieces of lost foam I tried. I buried it deep, upside down with a support, and a base as part of the composition. You cannot ram the sand hard next to the foam like you do with a wood pattern in green petro bond sand (an oily loose sand that packs like a snow ball) or the foam pattern breaks up. I was being gentle. After the metal cooled I pulled it out of the sand mold and the whole thing was deformed and covered with flashing. Those are little fin like forms that happen on the corners if the sand is not compacted dense enough.
Being the lazy, frugal, inquisitive guy that I am, I was fascinated by the results. I usually do not chase, (grind) my work. I like to see and show the processes of how something is made. I am also an inventor so I do all my own casting so I can experiment to alter the anticipated results and I want to see the record of the deviation.
The great part about making art is if it does not come out according to the plan it is not the end of the world. If it does not work as planned I just change the title and make up a new story ... ta da! So instead of being Guppies they turned into Siamese Fighting Fish.
I always say "Failure is your Friend." There are life lessons to be learned from it. Examine it, embrace it and set yourself up to experience it.
In addition to that, the major concept that I have lived my life by is to ask the question, "What if?" When something does not work as anticipated, examine it and try to answer that question. If it does not look dangerous, try it! Failure is the great teacher. Examine why it did not work, so you can learn from it.
This piece will come with a thick stone base that is polished on top and rough cut on the sides.
Size: 18"H x 18"W