With assistance from my class of summer sculpture students in WVU’s School of Art and Design, I helped Morgantown artist Jamie Lester create a life-size cast bronze German Shepherd sculpture for a memorial commemorating the canine heroes of 9/11. This memorial at Diamond in the Pines Park in Coram (Long Island), New York, pays tribute to the hundreds of rescue dogs that searched for survivors amid the debris from the collapse of the Twin Towers.
A ceremony was held earlier this month on the anniversary of the attacks to unveil the memorial to the public, and the finished work looks really fantastic. This was an incredibly challenging project, and it wouldn’t have come to such a successful resolution without the knowledge, effort, and labor put forth by my casting colleague Jeremy Entwistle and some amazing, long-distance metal casting consultation by sculptor Carey Netherton. Here are some images of the project, from start to finish.
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- Detail of pouring bronze
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- Pouring molds
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- Securing crucible in the shank
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- Lowering crucible into the shank
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- Lifting crucible out of the furnace
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- Jeremy Entwistle scraping the crucible prior to pouring
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- Finished investment mold
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- Jamie Lester and students pouring molds
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- Jamie Lester working on sprue systems
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- Jeremy Entwistle and Jamie Lester working on sprue systems
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- Sprue diagram by Carey Netherton
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- Wax pattern, front view, with cut lines by Carey Netherton
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- Wax pattern, front view
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- Wax pattern, back view
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- Wax pattern, side view right
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- Finished bronze casting, detail view
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- Finished bronze casting
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- Diamond in the Pines memorial with finished casting
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- Diamond in the Pines memorial with finished casting
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- Diamond in the Pines memorial with finished casting
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- Diamond in the Pines memorial with finished casting
Dylan Ethan Collins 