Helen Wyatt — Form and Fire
I may not be Lysippos but I aspire to be. I have devoted my whole life to this art of mine and have nearly lost limb and life. Now here is my moment. I have a commission to cast a giant of womankind in the form of Demeter from copper sourced from Cyprus and tin from Afghanistan and she (in my place) will speak. I may have been a municipal labourer once but now through my skill, those who picture our cities have chosen me to bring them to life. I’m ambitious, yes, but through my work I live. My work will live beyond me.
I run a workshop here on Rhodes with a team of men - some free; others slaves - but we all seek to work through our hands and know well the state of flow. We lay those hands on the clay, forming the scaffold and marking out the bulk - here, this one is grand. I work the form in clay - the model - to find the expression, body language and gesture to tell the story of loss and love.
It strikes me that her clothing too must tell a story. The elegance of drape and fine fringing will cause those who see her to leave in awe at the realism - not the ideal but truth. Then they will look up over her massive presence and see her poignant face look out in sad acceptance.
The drapery of the clothing of the Kalymnos Lady.
Enough of my vision. This is heavy work. Once formed, molds of clay or plaster (I prefer plaster) will be made from the model in sections so as not to damage undercuts when they are taken off the model. Head, arms, legs, torso will be replicated and the various sections of each reassembled. We pour a thin lining of beeswax inside; let it cool, remove the mold, check the detail and refine.
My chief bronzesmith will then construct a series of wax sprues attached to wax form- funnels and channels for pouring in molten metal, and vents for letting gas escape. The entire structure will be covered in clay. Now the fun begins. The clay and wax monolith is heated to 1100 degrees and the wax poured out. The remaining clay is heated again at a higher temperature to fire the clay further. Feeling hot yet?
Am I Hades on earth? We have a young man - not yet 15 - whose job is to learn the pour by watching and assisting in the carry. Old men of 35 heat the alloy and pour it through those now-empty funnels. Leather aprons give protection over near naked bodies. They bear the scars of their strength and will. No one is unscathed and now it’s the boy, now a man - his smooth limb will heal and toughen.
