Bringing Bronze Back…

Charles’s passion in sculpture is no hidden secrect but his talent with bronze is something that has been quitely bubbling in the background of Elliott of London’s shadows…….But not anymore – Charles’s FULL range of stunning Bronze Sculptures are now viewable on our website.
Editor of The Berko Loop Kevin Exley took the time to visit Charles at his new Studio & shared the following Editorial for a local informational tour guide………

“The goings on behind those wonderfully rustic timber doors took a different turn in early 2020, when Charles Elliott took the place on.
Charles is a bit of a deal on the British sculpture scene – known for producing the kind of awe-inspiring works of art you see gracing the lawns of the rich and famous. On the whole they’re massive; too massive to have been put together on this site. But that’s no matter because here a different outlet for Charles’s artistic flair takes place: the creation of classic cast bronzes.
Animals are the forte – an intrigue that harks back to childhood days growing up with horses (not literally), which Charles would spend hours depicting in charcoal or water colour. So it’s no surprise that a rigorous anatomical study kicks off the sculpting process – giving Charles the vital knowledge he requires if he’s to capture a beast’s true muscle definition, movement and grace.
“If you don’t do your research,” explains Charles, “really get to understand the form and structure, the mind makes things up – kind of fills in the blanks, and you shape something the way you think it ought to be, not the way it really is.”
Once happy, the (let’s say) boxing hare is reimagined in clay – a slow and steady pressing, shaping, pinching and smoothing that can take weeks, if not months, to complete but features all the signature style that marks Charles’s work out from that of other artists. Then it’s over to the foundry – where our jackrabbit is slathered in plaster, allowing a mould of him to be made. Liquid wax is then poured into the empty mould and ‘sloshed around’ to coat the inside. Once it sets, the foundry-person has themselves a hollow wax version of the original which they’ll cover in a special ceramic slurry to create a tough-as-nails final mould that will eventually be filled with molten bronze. From this, our solid cast hare will emerge proud and triumphant.*
It’s called the ‘lost wax’ method and it’s been around for thousands of years. As with many a traditional craft however, proper casting is under attack from imposter practices like 3D printing and iffy counterfeit production methods. So it’s good to know that here, in this timeless barn that’s always been home to proper metalwork, bronzes are being created the proper way.”

For more information on the stunning Bronze collection created by Charles please feel free to contact us at anytime.
Studio visits are welcome & commissions are also welcomed.