Bronze Puffin Sculptures
Sculpted in tribute to the puffins of Bempton Cliffs, this trio of cheeky characters never fail to bring a smile to our faces, always appearing cheerful and comical. Adorable, playful, sociable little birds, I sculpted them to capture the essence of the puffin and how they make us feel, rather than an anatomical, biological copy.
Please Meet – Puffin Billy (left) Flippy Flappy (middle) and Arthur Flap (because he’s not in a full flap)
The cheeky little chap stretching his wings in the middle is where my bronze journey began – it’s all his fault.
Why? Because as I was smoothing his cheeks, he was looking me in the eyes and I had the overwhelming desire to keep him to myself.
Knowing that’s not how it works in the real world, I began daydreaming about getting him cast in bronze so I could keep him and share him.
Could I? Should I? DARE I?
Bronze, in my eyes, is meant for the best artists’ best work. Who was I to think I could have my art cast forever more in such a prestigious material. How dare I?!
Well, you know what, I’ve made big leaps of faith before and I’m sure it won’t be the last time so yes, little old me took Flippy Flappy to the foundry to be immortalised in bronze.
I was working on the other two at the time and thought, “I’d bet they’d look lovely as a set of bronzes,” so I didn’t take the next step, I fell down the proverbial stairs and got all 3 cast in bronze.
Shipping Complimentary international shipping is provided for my artist bronzes – customers are responsible for any customs and duties on international shipments. Each sculpture will be carefully packed along with their certificate of authentication and guide on how best to look after your investment.
UK delivery – please allow 5 working days. International delivery will take longer but is tracked.
VAT – Price includes VAT at 20% in applicable countries
Puffin Billy – Limited Numbered Edition 12 | Approx. Size 28cm height (11″) x 16cm (6.3″) width x 16cm (6.3″) depth |Approx. Weight 5.5kg
Flippy Flappy – Limited Numbered Edition 12 | Approx. Size 25cm height (9.8″) x 39cm (15.3″) width x 27cm (10.6″) depth | Approx. Weight 7kg
Arthur Flap – Limited Numbered Edition 12 | Approx. Size 27cm height (9.8″) x 25cm (15.3″) width x 15cm (10.6″) depth | Approx. Weight 7kg
The real Billy has mates
The real Flippy Flappy
The real Arthur
How are they made?
I start each sculpture in exactly the same way, with a bag of professional grade clay.
Once dried but not bone dry, they were ready to have their moulds made. The more complex pieces needed to be cut up into sections to create separate plaster moulds.
From the plaster moulds, silicon moulds were made.
When a new puffin is born, hot wax is poured into those silicon moulds to create an exact copy of each piece.
These are then carefully assembled to produce an exact copy of the original clay in wax, which is then dipped multiple times into a ceramic slurry to form an outer coating to the wax.
Once dry, they’re then put in the furnace and the wax melts out, leaving a hollow ceramic shell.
It’s this shell that the molten bronze is then poured into.
Once the bronze has cooled, the ceramic shell is knocked off to reveal the bronze casting beneath. The inside is ground out and then the pieces assembled and finished by hand.
Then comes the patination process – a combination of heat and different chemicals to produce different colours.
Once the patina is complete, they get all hot and bothered again before a generous coating of wax is applied to protect the finish, they’re allowed to cool, then buffed to a shine.
Here’s some snaps I took during their creation process…
