About William Miles

Welcome to my Bronze Casting Workshop!

I use the lost wax Lost wax or investment casting is an ancient method of making a metal object from an original form shaped in wax. The wax model is put into a steel flask and encased with a silica plaster, also called investment. The flask is then heated in a kiln to melt and vaporize the wax, leaving a void in the shape of the model. Molten bronze is poured into the flask and fills the void, thus creating an exact replica of the wax form in metal. method to cast desktop size bronze sculptures of western art and fantasy characters. My sculptures are up to 30 centimeters tall and weigh up to twenty kilograms or more. Each work is individually cast and assembled.

My craft brings me much satisfaction. Every casting I create embodies a human or scientific element that is innovative and beautiful.

The Journey to Bronze

So, why am I now casting bronze sculpture? It’s a curious story that began when I had opportunity to play with oxyacetylene torches, hot kilns, and centrifugal casting units.

Swirling and reflective molten metal caught my fancy. The notion of durability and permanence came to mind; this is something that did not exist in my professional career as a computer scientist. Rapid changes in computing, business economics, and social communication quickly invalidated any sense of a permanent solution or service that I might create.

With bronze, I realized that I could easily create solid bronze artifacts like sculptures, fairies, and other fantasies that captured my sense of the impossible. I now make beautiful things in metal and this perhaps leaves a more permanent legacy to my work.

Bronze Casting

Bronze is a warm metal that is substantive and durable. It is my goal to produce about 100 pieces of art that will be a legacy for others to experience and enjoy.

I like to cast bronze objects that provoke and stimulate thought. To see what my various projects are, explore my Bronze Sculpture Gallery and my Work-In-Progress blog entries. If you are interested in my mathematics and computing initiatives explore my Mad Science postings. If you would like to see photographs of the resin models I assembled and painted before I began casting bronze, see my Photographic Prints and my Resin Model gallery.