ROGER JOHN LUKO

Fired clay (terracotta) literally means ‘baked earth’ in Italian.  Colours will vary according to the type of clay and firing temperature. 

 

My sculptures are modeled directly in solid clay and are never hollow.   They are ultimately fired in a kiln to approximately 955 degrees centigrade or cone 08.  

 

The result is a ‘one of a kind’ original or 1/1.

 

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This ancient recipe originally combined copper and tin to create the much harder metal alloy called bronze.  Present day foundries use a new improved recipe that is called silicon bronze, which consists of 96% copper and 4% silicon with various trace metals such as tin, iron, zinc and manganese.  Bronze is stronger than all other alloys except steel.

 

 The creation of an edition of bronze sculptures is a long and complex process that usually involves the ‘lost-wax’ process.  The steps required by the artist include making a rubber-like mould of the original clay sculpture.  From this a wax replica is produced which is gated, sprued and encased with a ceramic shell material.  This in turn is dried, fired and the wax melted out or ‘lost’.  The molten metal is then poured into the cavity within the shell.  After the shell is broken away the final process involves sandblasting, disc grinding, chasing and welding.  A final patina is created with corrosive chemicals and tiger torch.

 

 An edition number is given to the piece such as 2/9.

 

 

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These are super-strength, gypsum cement, casting materials that are used with a rubber mould to produce an edition of sculptures.   My pieces are never hollow but always solid casts.