Bronze sculptures by Don Stone

Born in Monterey Park, California in 1943, Don has always been at the hub of opportunity and been able to pursue his field of dreams.  He painted his way through college while, in the athletic category, he played AAA minor league baseball with the Minnesota Twins until an injury retired his talents at the age of twenty-two.

Don’s heart has always been with nature, so in 1980 he made the big move to the beautiful Madison Valley of Ennis, Montana.  Ennis is fifty miles northwest of Yellowstone Park and has an abundance of North American game animals and blue ribbon fishing.

Since 1987, Don’s challenge has been to faithfully represent in bronze the pursuit of a new vision of reality.  He’s always striving for accuracy and authenticity, projecting extraordinary depth of action and movement in a natural way.

Southwest Art and Wildlife News have featured his antler art carvings.  Don carves eagle heads into shed moose antlers that are matched up on a mounted base to resemble winged eagles in flight.  These are spectacular collector’s items.

Don’s wildlife art has been displayed in prestigious shows including the Charles Russell Show of Great Falls, Montana.  He is a member of Ducks Unlimited and Safari International.

The lost wax process for making bronze sculptures

Don Stone begins each bronze sculpture with the lost wax process.  A flexible rubber mold is made from his original.  This modern material is able to capture every detail of the original.  Molten wax is then poured into the rubber mold, producing a faithful casting of the sculpture.  When the wax casting is removed from the mold, an artisan hand finishes it to perfectly match the original.  Wax rods called gates are applied to the wax casting to allow the wax to be removed and funnels called sprues are attached to receive the molten bronze.  The wax casting is coated with several layers of a liquid refractory ceramic, creating a stable mold, which is allowed to cure for several days.  The ceramic mold is dried in a kiln, which bakes the ceramic and burns out the wax, leaving a cavity in its place, thus the term “lost wax”.  The ceramic mold is then filled with molten bronze at a temperature of 2100 degrees Fahrenheit.  Bonze is an alloy of 85% copper, 5% lead, 5% tin and 5% zinc.  After the bronze has cooled, the ceramic mold is carefully broken away, revealing the sculpture within.  Fine sand particles are blasted under air pressure to remove the last races of ceramic that might adhere to the bronze.  The raw casting is then turned over to another artist who cuts away the gates and sprues, blending these areas into the casting.  Lastly, the bronze is now treated with chemicals and heat to give it the chosen color according to the artist’s specifications.  This patina then becomes a permanent part of the bronze sculpture for the world to enjoy.

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