About
Learn and advance your metal-art skills by casting bronze or aluminum into a mold you've already created, you make in the class, or one of our own patterns. Molten metal is poured into the mold you’ve formed in green sand (an environmentally safe mixture of fine sand, clay, and water), from a pattern of your own making, or one selected from our pattern library. After your casting cools, you’ll free it from the mold and experience the thrill as your artistic creation emerges.
Metal Casting is the second of three basic steps of the Foundry Arts:
- Make the pattern,
- Form the mold and pour metal to create the casting, and
- Finish the casting
No need to be concerned about attending this class before you’ve made a pattern. Attend the class for the first time, and when casting inspires your creative energies, take the Pattern-Making class, then attend the Metal Casting class again, as often as you like. Our instructors guide each student to help them advance, no matter their skill level.
BARN offers related casting classes including The Basics of Metal Casting (online), Pattern-Making for Casting in the Foundry where you learn how to make patterns used to produce a working mold, and Metal Casting in the Foundry where you make molds from patterns and pour molten metal into the mold to form the casting. A foundry casting event - Guided Open Studio - is available to those who’ve attended Metal Casting in the Foundry or who have demonstrated competency in the foundry. Our goal is to host this event each month, so check the calendar. Registration is required for all Foundry and Casting events.
After casting your piece, register to clean up, polish and finish it here.
Location: This is an off-site class.
9392 Wardwell Ave. N.E., Bainbridge Island WA
Details
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Wear natural fiber clothing, long pants, long sleeves, and closed-toe shoes (natural fiber or leather). No stretch fabrics, no hoodie ties, or dangling jewelry like bracelets that can get caught in machinery are allowed. Tie back long hair.
Instructors
Jeff Oens is a widely renowned sculptor whose bronze artwork is exhibited in prominent art collections and public displays across the United States and Canada. He is best known for his outstanding wildlife sculptures. But his portfolio also includes human figures, mythical creatures, and other diverse subjects, ranging in size from miniature to monumental. Many of Jeff’s sculptures can be seen around the industrial park on Three Tree Lane.
Frank Wurden earned his BS Electrical Engineering degree at the University of Washington, and a BFA degree with emphasis in life drawing, sculpting, and foundry art working with green sand, CO2 sand casting, investment casting, and ceramic shell casting. Sculpture materials were clay, foam, wood, or wax for the patterns, and casting in aluminum, bronze and stainless steel. Frank says it’s been many years since he's actually done casting, so it’s great fun to get back into it! “I totally enjoy the entire process and look forward to helping other people do the same.”
Mario Oblak honed his passion for casting metal with a BFA from the University of Washington and an MFA from the Rhode Island School of Design in sculpture. Creating, designing, and building in different materials and mediums is a joy, but working in liquid metal is “it” for him. Mario feels “casting is a magical process that requires patience, skill, labor, and teamwork, with the results both satisfying and permanent.” By sharing his knowledge and experience, Mario wants to help others explore, learn, and develop skills so they can see their ideas come to life.
