Wyoming Breezes

Chief Standing Bear by Benjamin Victor Eagle Bronze Foundry Lander, WY May 2019 It was a treat to see the Chief Standing Bear statue at the Eagle Bronze Foundry before it was transported to Washington D.C. and revealed in the National Statuary Hall in September. I didn't know the impact that this man had on the civil rights of all Native Americans until I returned home and did some research. Some information about Chief Standing Bear can be found here and  here

source How I wish I could see this finished bronze sculpture in person; however seeing one of the horses in the beginning stages at the Eagle Bronze Foundry  was a real honor. I saw an article online about the finished sculpture last week on Cowboy State Daily . Now that the sculpture is finished, it will be shipped to Sicily.

shimming a model Eagle Bronze Foundry Lander, WY September 2017 You may remember seeing the photo before in this post . I recently discovered some information about the finished bronze sculpture and thought you might be interested in where this sculpture now resides. Google image The following was written by Max Greiner Jr. : Apr 17, 2018 (full article can be found here )  Jeff Anderson, president of Leadership Inc., announced that a massive 1,123 lbs., 11' long lion sculpture has now been completed by eagle bronze in Lander, Wyoming, and is ready to ship to Israel. The No. 1 life-size (105 percent) bronze statue called the Lion of Judah will be shipped by air to Jerusalem as a gift of love from American Christians to the Jewish people, in honor of the 70th anniversary of the modern state of Israel, which is being celebrated this year. Anderson reports that sufficient funds have now been raised to make this historic gift possible, in collaboration with the sculptor. Ea...

longhorn sculptures Eagle Bronze Foundry Lander, WY September 2017 Two large longhorn sculptures stood behind the Eagle Bronze Foundry building. I noticed a large "D" brand on their left side, and remembered that the longhorns on display in Lander do not have the brand. I asked our guide if these two will become part of the small herd in Lander, shown in  this earlier post . She said the two longhorns were originally made as part of herd on display in Pioneer Park in Dallas, Texas , but these two were never placed in the park. One their side is the large "D" brand, indicating they are part of the "Dallas" herd. I'd love to see the trail drive display in Dallas, where more than 49 longhorns and three horseback riders are on display in Pioneer Park. All of the bronze sculptures in the park were cast at Eagle Bronze Foundry.  More information on the Pioneer Park display can be found here . Note the small sheep sculpture in front of the longhorns. ...

Assembly shed at the Eagle Bronze Foundry Lander, WY One of the largest pieces that Sue and I saw in the assembly shed was a large horse (mare of the Fighting Horses sculpture) It's shown in the photo just left of the grizzly bear. The blue circle is the mare hoof.  a small version of the two horses Our guide told us this sculpture is going to Dubai in six months, and eventually an even larger version will be made - to house a museum INSIDE the horses with the walkway in the mare's raised hoof. source This photo from the foundry website shows the full sculpture to be assembled in Dubai in 2018 I offered to accompany the crew to Dubai, but our guide just laughed.

testing the temperature of the molten bronze August 2017 Eagle Bronze Foundry Lander, WY As Sue and I exited the plaster and drying room, we discovered two men preparing to pour molten bronze into molds. One of the men tested the temperature of the bronze with a long rod with a thermometer at the end. removing the molds from the kiln where the wax was melted, leaving a mold of plaster As the temperature increased, the molds were removed from a kiln. The kiln melts the wax inside the mold, leaving only a mold of plaster. Our guide told us the melted wax is captured and reused many times. The  molds were placed in a bed of sand. You can see the glowing crucible of molten bronze with a bar clamped on it. carefully, the molten bronze is poured into the waiting molds the amount of strength it takes to handle the crucible  filled with molten bronze was evident.  The man on the right without the protective gear came in and help with the pour beca...

Plaster room The large drum mixes the plaster of paris that coats the wax molds. Once the mold is covered with the plaster, it is then covered with sand. Wax molds covered with plaster and sand. The birds in the photo clearly show the hollow legs and pan that were added to the wax mold in the earlier step. The mold has been covered with plaster and sand and are left to dry completely in an air-conditioned room with a lot of fans. Next: Preparing and pouring the bronze. . .

adding a fine layer of wax to the rubber mold The foundry uses the "lost wax" process. You can read about it here . After the clay model is shimmed and the pieces separated, a rubber mold is created. The gentleman in the photo is adding a layer of wax to a mold. The workers in this area of the foundry were working on a moose sculpture. (These photos are not necessarily in the order, but are the order that our guide explained them to me and Sue.) some molds are small and hollow, so wax is poured into the cavity. This woman is adding hollow "legs" to the mold of a moose antler. The legs allow the bronze to enter the mold. Unless the molds are three dimensional, most will have these legs attached. A wax mold with hollow legs and a pan attached. The waxed mold of one section of the moose head . Next . . . finishing the mold

full-size clay model being shimmed Eagle Bronze Foundry Lander, WY August 2017 Last week, my friend Sue and I toured the Eagle Bronze Foundry in Lander, WY and discovered one of our community's hidden gems. Sculptures from this foundry can be found on seven continents. On our tour, we saw part of a huge sculpture that will be placed in Dubai within the next year. I took a lot of photos and will be sharing them periodically. I did not take notes, so please forgive me if the terminology I use is not correct. Our guide explained that the first step is to "shim" the clay sculpture. The lines on the lion's face and body show where cards will be placed to shim the pieces that will eventually become molds. Coming soon - creating the molds.