Watch a Bronze Get Made from Start to Finish

A few weeks ago, the monastery received the most recently completely bronze piece for the Temple Builder's Memorial. This piece is of two silpis moving a large, roughly hewn block of granite with iron crowbars while using a simple block of wood for leverage. In the long slideshow below we take you through the several steps required to produce a world-class bronze.

Out of curiosity, we asked chief metal craftsman in Loveland, Colorado, Bobby Page, if he was aware of any other similar project to ours. This was his response:

"In Kathy and my 34 plus years of working with thousands of artists and too many projects to count the Temple bronze's are quite unique as we have never seen or worked on a project that tells the story of a process to that scale.  I have also asked some local (old time) artisans in the area the same question and they have never heard of anything like it.

"Other than works we have done for Na Aina Kai (a world class botanical garden on Kaua`i) we can't think of any other family of bronze's. Especially workers/builders the common hands with blisters on dusty tired hands going home to rest at the end of a hard day with the echo of hammering still ringing in their ears. The countless tiny bits that get in the eyes even when glasses are worn. The missed stroke of the hammer hitting the hand or even worse marring the work.

"Holly has done such a wonderful depiction of all the pieces in the memorial that I feel quite close to them all working/looking at them, learning what they do and thinking of them as not just a work of art but people like me.

"In my opinion that is what makes this so special. They are alive in their story. And to have so many great works (literally tons) we have had a hand in on beautiful Kauai with the Monastery and Na Aina Kai is something words can't describe and I can't think of a better place.

"It is all perfect. Much Love and many thanks to all on this journey we share.

Bobby"

This is a close up of the final product in Colorado before being shipped to Kaua`i. Come and see how it was made.

Artist Manivelu\

s rendering of the final assembly of the bronze pieces that make up the Temple Builders\' Memorial. At the center Gurudeva conveys his vision for Iraivan Temple to Ganapati Sthapati who genuflects before him surrounded by silpis working on the temple. It has taken five years, but today most of this statuary has been completed. '

On the Big Island of Hawai`i, artist Holly Young prepares the wax mould as she\

s done for all previous pieces. Inside this white casting is the sculpted hard wax.'

After the wax sets, she carefully removes the cast. We can begin to see the silpis\

form.'

Here is one half of the finished piece before the molds were made to encase the wax.

Holly\

s expertise is humbling. Look at what she\'s able to do with wax!'

The sipli on the left seems to be issuing a rallying cry to help move the stone, while the silpi on the right stoically endures the monumental task of nudging a stone weighing hundreds of pounds a few inches forward.

So organic and fluid. She\

s now inserted metal rods into the silpis\' hands and covered them with wax, turning them into crowbars.'

Holly\

s realism is amazing.'

Now we\

ve gone from Holly\'s home on the Big Island, Hawai`i to the metal craftsmen studio in Loveland, Colorado. They do many, many different projects for clients from any number of locations. Here we see shells on waxes before being ready to become bronzes.'

Kathy Page now fits up the wax.

Here is Kathy Page in Colorado, assembling the pieces that will make up the stone. You\

ll see...'

Scraping the crucible to remove slag before pouring metal.

The bronze used to make the piece is first heated to over 2,000ºF (nearly 1,100ºC)

The artisans have to work fast. They then take the insanely hot shell to the kiln. Quickly! Their insulated kevlar gloves are flaming, as you might imagine.

The hot shell full of the molten metal is then placed in a bed of sand to stablize before the pour.

Filling the transfer crucible.

And the final pour.

Here are the pieces after they\

ve set, cooled, and been removed. Ready to be assembled and welded.'

Bobby Page uses hoists to hold the pieces in position for an accurate welding.

Back in Bobby\

s welding shop the various pieces are reassembled.'

The aforementioned bronze granite piece. I know, it\

s confusing. It\'s not granite, but bronze that looks just like a granite block.'

Bobby stands proudly with the pieces.

Do to their life-size, to stand with this piece is almost a bit eerie. You really feel like someone is standing next to you!

Bobby has completed his part, and will soon send it off to the patineur.

Where the action is. The granite bronze is actually very light weight, and can easily be lifted and moved by two people. A close up of the fulcrum.

At certain points of the bronze\

s base, there are bolts which are used to secure it for shipping, and later to secure it to the final, future monument here on Kaua`i. Jim is on the job.'

Off to Debbie\

s shop.'

Before it\

s time to ship, we have one last important step which is the application of the patina. Debbie Baker is our woman on the job. '

She is part chemist, part artist, part deva, working her magic to give color to the raw metal.

A sulpher wash turns the metal almost black.

Debbie\

s expertise comes from years of fine tuning her craft.'

Debbie\

s colors bring realism to the bronze as she makes stone and clothing and skin different shades.'

The final piece is ready for shipment to Kauai!

Everything is safe and secure as we procede to ship out the piece. The granite has its own base.

Through the magic of the Internet, it\

s now already uncrated here at the monastery! Some of the monks worked one Siddhidata morning to move, uncrate, and place the piece.'

Here we are uncrating it at the monastery. We\

re temporarily keeping it in the Banyan Mandapam along with the olther completed pieces we already have.'

After a lot of careful manuvering, it\

s where it needs to be.'

One can feel the effort they are making.

You really feel like you\

re in the presence of live activity.'

Gurudeva with Sthapati. The Iraivan Temple model at their feet.

To the amazement and concern of many, silpis do all their work barefoot.

Some of us noted that this bronze piece of wood is completely impressive.

As is the \"granite.\" It looks and feels like the real thing.

This is metal! All of the grain, the splintering, the cracks. Just like a real piece of beat-up wood used on the silpis\

job site.'

You can see the wood grain and cracks.

Holly didn\

t forget to include the annual rings of the tree! How is that possible?'

A pano of all the finished pieces, waiting to be placed in their future home out on the northern side of Iraivan Temple.

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