Garbed in heavy layers of heat-shielding clothing, hard hats and face masks, two stout figures lift the glowing red crucible out of the furnace. Dross (metal impurities) are skimmed from the top of the molten bronze and dropped to the concrete floor. Then comes the pour: the molten bronze is spilled into fluted appendages attached to the molds. These “pour cups” channel the liquid metal into the mold. The bronze is almost 2,000 degrees Fahrenheit at this point.
Streams of the intensely glowing, liquid bronze squirt out through strategically placed drain holes. These vents help the molten metal flow efficiently and allow for the escape of trapped air and gases. Red hot metal streams onto the floor.
Swiftly, the pour is complete. This is the climactic moment in a series of steps that are carried out day in and day out at the Bronze Works which, since 2002, has been operating at the edge of downtown Tacoma. The Bronze Works team cast works that are designed and commissioned by various artists and groups from all over the country.
Originally trained in industrial metalwork, foundry owner and general manager Kevin Keating moved the Bronze Works from Shelton to Tacoma where it functions as a professional, fine arts foundry. In conjunction with Tacoma’s Third Thursday Art Walk (at least until the dark, wet days of winter arrive) the Bronze Works welcomes the public to an open house and to witness a pouring of the bronze.
Members of the Bronze Works team, such as intern Kim Reidelbach, are on hand to give visitors a tour of the facility and to walk them through the multiple steps required to produce a fine art sculpture in bronze.
From artist’s prototype to mold making and wax casting all the way through the bronze pouring, metal cleaning and application of a patina, the production of fine art bronze is a multifaceted process requiring a team of talented players.
Within the labyrinthine confines of the Bronze Works there is a large, high-ceilinged show space/gallery in which a variety of finished pieces are on view. Haphazardly arranged, there are bronze sculptures of many shapes and sizes. Elephants, goats, nude figures (both life-like and stylized), and tall crane-like birds with faces embossed on their sides are encountered in the gallery. There are a number of other metal sculptures and welders’ “doodles” made of bits of hardware, metal plates, cake molds and automotive cooling fans. The place has the feel of a mad scientist’s laboratory.
Dominating the space is a 7 ft. tall clay statue called “The Goddess of Commerce” that is to be cast in bronze and will hopefully find a permanent home at Theater on the Square Park. Designed by sculptor Marilyn Mahoney, the “goddess” is dressed in the clothing style of an earlier era of Tacoma’s history. She holds a container ship in her left hand and a model of Tacoma in her right. The model city consists of some of Tacoma’s most iconic buildings: Tacoma Dome, Museum of Glass, St. Joseph Hospital and the Old Town Hall to name a few.
Commissioned and sponsored by a group of private citizens in conjunction with the Tacoma Historical Society, “The Goddess of Commerce” is a remaking of a similar sculpture that once graced Tacoma’s old chamber of commerce building. When the building was torn down in 1950, the original “Goddess of Commerce” was scrapped.
The Bronze Works is located at 2506 S. Fawcett Ave. (the corner of 25th and Fawcett). Visitors are welcome, especially on Third Thursday open house. For further information call (253) 396-0396 or e-mail kkeating39@hotmail.com.
