Volnus Print

I've been an artist and engineer most of my life. My artwork has always centered on the human form. Nothing rivals the beauty and mechanics of the human body. Ever since a young boy, I’ve been fascinated by classical figurative sculpture. Masterpieces by DaVinci, Michelangelo, Bernini, and the ancient Greeks inspire me to this day. My mom was a devout Catholic and taught me about faith as a child. My father was a master mechanic, and instilled the German philosophy of quality in my work. My art has always melded faith and engineering and always will. Ten years ago, I started sculpting classical figures in bronze as my hobby. In 2012, I built my own foundry to produce my sculptures. Few sculptors can cast their own bronzes, and those I admire most could. I can tell you first hand, casting bronze is no easy task. Sculpting's easy compared to the work required to reproduce it in bronze! Foundry work is precise, technical, tedious, time consuming and expensive. So many steps must function perfectly with little room for error. But when everything goes right it's exhilarating! Staring at 2000 degree molten bronze is like being mesmerized by a campfire but magnified. You get a feeling of fascination to think how humans can even do that, let alone by yourself! It's taken me a decade to master the lost-wax foundry process and build equipment needed to cast bronze with perfection. I'm always learning and improving. I enlist the help of my family or friends pouring bronze (a two-man operation lasting 10 minutes) but perform all other foundry work myself (often 6 months per sculpture). Sometimes I sculpt in clay to create my physical models, but prefer digital sculpting and 3D printing whenever possible. I've designed with CAD for 30 years, and it's usually the best technique for my sculptural projects. I can do things digitally that are impossible or take forever to do by hand in clay. Now that I can create my own lost-wax bronzes, I plan to make more of them and promote my art!