Second Hand Rose by Richard Arfsten
Second Hand Rose - cast metal. Rose was inspired by a woman I saw on the street in Washington D.C. about 30 years ago. More than likely she was homeless. She looked like she had stepped out of a time machine from the 1920s or was wearing her great grandmother's clothes from the attic. She was the quintessential Flapper with all kinds of sequins and a short satin ivory dress ... just like she was in a period movie.
The piece is a bas relief that was carved in sand and cast in metal. That sounds easy but it is extremely difficult to make the mold. Traditional sand casting uses a wood pattern that you pack the sand hard around, then carefully remove the wood pattern, and pour the molten metal into the cavity.
In this process I carved a positive of the image out of black, damp sand, then put some talcum powder over it, and then put more sand on it. The sand had to be compacted without disturbing the carved sand below it which is very hard to do.
Then I had to separate the two sand parts, which was also very hard to do. Next I carved away the positive part to make a cavity for the metal. The metal had to be cast against the negative surface.
Then I reassembled the two halves without disturbing the sand. Did I mention this is very hard to do?
This piece is designed to hang on the wall.
Sculpture size: 12"H x 11"W
The piece is a bas relief that was carved in sand and cast in metal. That sounds easy but it is extremely difficult to make the mold. Traditional sand casting uses a wood pattern that you pack the sand hard around, then carefully remove the wood pattern, and pour the molten metal into the cavity.
In this process I carved a positive of the image out of black, damp sand, then put some talcum powder over it, and then put more sand on it. The sand had to be compacted without disturbing the carved sand below it which is very hard to do.
Then I had to separate the two sand parts, which was also very hard to do. Next I carved away the positive part to make a cavity for the metal. The metal had to be cast against the negative surface.
Then I reassembled the two halves without disturbing the sand. Did I mention this is very hard to do?
This piece is designed to hang on the wall.
Sculpture size: 12"H x 11"W