With sweaty palms and stomachs full of butterflies, it was time for the most thrilling and terrifying step for bronze casting students: taking their molds to the fire.
Although they have worked on their molds for days, the bronze pour will either make, or break students’ projects.
However, it is fitting that the students are experiencing this pressure, since the bronze casting class is feeling the same pressure.
Bronze casting classes are disappearing from colleges across California, but EC’s course is as strong as ever, with high enrollment rates and support from the community and administration.
“EC is one of the few schools that believes education is belong math and English,” associate professor of art, Russell McMillin said. “We also have a great support from the community that helps us keep courses alive that other places are not able to.”
While EC is fully behind its bronze casting course, many colleges do not have sufficient staff or funding to keep the program going.
“Bronze casting is expensive, so when cuts are being made, it is easy to get rid of,” McMillin said. “And because universities don’t offer bronze casting anymore, it is difficult to get staff that actually know how to teach it.”
For students, like Jenifer Lynn, metalsmithing major, bronze casting is an extremely fun and rewarding class.
“I spent a lot of time in the bronze casting class, finishing my sculpting pieces, and I saw a bronze pour,” Lynn said. “(Being a) pyromaniac, I was hooked.” Lynn said.
But it takes much more than being a pyromaniac to enjoy bronze casting. The students must have patience and skill in order to make great pieces of art.
“This is my fourth and final semester taking bronze casting and until this semester, I had not finished anything,” Lynn said.
“Many students do not finish all of the projects they start because (a mistake in) one step of bronze casting requires the student to start from scratch again,” McMillin said.
For students who get the hang of bronze casting, the end result is very rewarding.
“After casting and melting down five projects, I kind of found my niche and I am doing a complete series of my ideas now,” Lynn said.
Lynn has been very pleased with the results of her works, including her last on which turned out even better than she thought it would.
Seeing students, like Lynn succeeding, is very gratifying for McMillin because (it) helps them grow as artists and people,” he said.
“Bronze casting really rewards those who pay attention, have good craftsmanship and stay focused all the way through (the process)” McMillin said.
The bronze casting course at EC shows that, although the course is disappearing from colleges left and right, bronze casting is a great course for any type of art major.
