by Robert J. Eccleston, Sculptor Among the different
metal casting processes in
use today, investment casting is unique in that it is consid- ered both an art and science. The intricacies and attention to detail required to success- fully
The Making of a Marine in Bronze:
create a one-of-a-kind art casting are not so differ- ent from the same zero-defect quality standards essential for casting a single crystal turbine blade or medical implant. So it’s not surprising that when each and every piece needs to be “perfect,” investment cast- ing is the process of choice. However, when the end work will be a veteran’s memorial, in consideration of what it should represent both factual- ly and emotionally to veterans
Maquette to Monument
and their families, the word “perfect” falls a bit short. In 2005, I was commis- sioned to sculpt a life-sized memorial
based on Col.
Charles Waterhouse’s paint- ing “BAR on the Beach©.” Col. Waterhouse’s numerous paintings and artwork cele- brate the history and heroism of the United States Marine
Corps and serve by them- selves to inspire Marines past, present and future. “BAR on the Beach” is one of the most popular of his works, and served as the base inspiration for my final sculpted figure. The sculpture is an edi-
tion of two. One is located in Warren OH, and is the focal point for the Trumbell County
Veterans Memorial. The sec- ond is located at the National Museum of the Marine Corps in Triangle VA, and is the fo- cal point for the 5th Marine Division Memorial. The process of modeling
and casting this bronze sculp- ture covered a full 16-month period (10 months to sculpt the models and six months for the full casting process). While the modeling work was completed in my Lake Placid studio, the investment casting & cleanup was completed at the Beacon Fine Art Foundry in Beacon, NY.
Although the steps in- volved in creating a life-size bronze casting can run parallel to the casting design activity path used for a non-art invest-
Figure 1– “BAR on the Beach©” – COL. Charles Water- house.
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Figure 2 – Final version of maquette September 2012
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