An ancient process reborn through contemporary craftsmanship, lost-wax casting is one of the oldest and most respected methods of metal sculpture, used for millennia to create enduring works of art.

This is not mass production, it is a slow, deliberate creation as each piece is sculpted, molded, cast, and finished entirely by hand, with no shortcuts and no room for error.

 

"The steps you’ll see below are repeated for every individual artwork.
Each piece involves extensive manual work, and throughout the process, multiple molds and materials are lost and remade, until only the final bronze remains."

- Mihail Epure

Step 1 - Sculpting the original piece in clay

Every bronze sculpture is first brought to life by hand, in clay. Mihail sculpts each original piece with careful attention to form, emotion, and detail. Clay allows for flexibility in shaping but demands exceptional skill to capture and preserve fine textures and precise proportions.

During this stage, Mihail not only shapes the form but also meticulously polishes and refines the clay surface to prepare it for casting. Some pieces in the collection have taken over 500 hours to sculpt - each hour a testament of dedication, patience, and pursuit of perfection.

Step 2 - Transferring form to mold

Once the clay sculpture is complete, a flexible silicone rubber mold is carefully applied over its surface. This mold captures every nuance of Mihail’s touch, from the flow of texture to the subtlest fingerprint, preserving the exact physical language of the original.

This stage marks a profound turning point in the process: to create the mold, the original clay sculpture is cut, altered and destroyed. In doing so, hundreds of hours of sculpting, refining, and polishing are sacrificed in service of the final work.

Step 3 - Creating the wax replica

Molten wax is poured or slushed into the rubber mold to create a hollow wax duplicate of the original sculpture. The artist adjusts the wax thickness to control the eventual weight and durability of the bronze. After cooling, the wax shell is removed from the mold, forming a delicate but precise replica.

The wax replica contains small imperfections, seams, or air bubbles. Using heated tools, scalpels, and brushes, the artist repairs and refines the wax surface, ensuring it perfectly matches the original sculpture.

This stage is time-intensive and critical to achieving fine detail in the final bronze and must be repeated manually for each individual piece.

 

Step 4 - Spruing & building the flow system

Using molten wax, the artist carefully attaches a network of wax rods, known as sprues, to the surface of the wax sculpture. These sprues serve as channels - allowing molten bronze to flow into the mold while giving displaced air a route to escape, ensuring a clean and complete casting. A central wax cup, also called a pouring basin is affixed at the top, acting as the entry point for the bronze.

The entire sprue system must be strategically engineered, not only to guide the metal efficiently but to avoid interfering with the sculpture’s most delicate features. Each attachment is done by hand, and even though it is temporary and eventually lost in the process, this wax structure is critical, as without it, the sculpture could never take shape in metal.

 

Step 5 - Creating the casting shell

The entire wax sculpture, now fitted with its sprue system, is carefully prepared for investment, the stage where a ceramic shell is built around it to create the mold. The piece is repeatedly dipped into a fine ceramic slurry, a liquid mixture that flows over every surface, capturing the full detail of the wax beneath. After each dip, it is gently coated with fine silica sand, which adds strength and texture to the outer layer.

Between each coat, the sculpture must be left to dry in controlled conditions, allowing the layers to cure and harden before the next application. This is a slow, methodical process, often repeated 8 to 12 times to build a thick, durable shell capable of withstanding the extreme heat of molten bronze.

 

Step 6 - Losing the wax

The ceramic shell is placed in a high-temperature kiln, where it is gradually heated until the entire wax interior melts and drains away. This is the defining moment of the lost-wax casting process, the transformation from wax to absence, leaving behind a perfectly hollow cavity within the ceramic mold that mirrors every detail of the original sculpture.

What melts away is not just functional wax, it is the hand-polished, finely finished replica that the artist spent hours refining with delicate tools and focused care. Every curve, line, and texture was shaped by hand to match the original clay vision with absolute precision. In this stage, that meticulous wax work is irreversibly lost, sacrificed entirely to create the negative space where bronze will eventually flow.

 

Step 7 - Casting the bronze

At this stage, the sculpture begins its rebirth as bronze is heated to over 1,100°C (2,000°F) until it becomes a glowing, molten liquid, alive with movement, heat, and potential. Meanwhile, the ceramic mold is pre-heated to reduce thermal shock and ensure the molten metal flows smoothly into every recess of the form.

With practiced precision, bronze is carefully poured into the mold’s central funnel, allowing it to travel through the sprue system and fill the now-empty cavity once occupied by wax. The process must be done swiftly yet deliberately; the metal cannot cool too quickly or flow too fast, or imperfections and voids may form. As the bronze rushes in, air is forced out through the venting channels, and the liquid metal captures every last detail left behind by the vanished wax.

 

Step 8 - Breaking the mold

Once the bronze has cooled and solidified, the sculpture enters one of its most dramatic phases: the breaking of the mold. The hardened ceramic shell, now fused tightly around the metal, is carefully shattered using hammers, chisels, and vibration tools. In doing so all the work invested in the process from step 3 onwards is completely lost.

This is a delicate process; although the bronze is solid, the sculpture’s finer details can still be vulnerable to damage if handled without precision. As the shell crumbles away, the raw bronze form is revealed for the first time.

What once existed only in clay, then in wax, and finally in absence, has reemerged in enduring metal. The surface may be rough, covered in traces of ceramic dust and casting residues, but the essence is there: the sculpture has crossed the threshold from vision to reality, ready for the final stages of refinement.

 

Step 9 - Metal chasing – restoring & perfecting

At this stage, the artist begins the meticulous process of metal chasing: a stage where the raw casting is transformed into its final, perfected form. The first task is to remove the sprues, the remnants of the bronze channels used during pouring. These are cut away carefully, leaving behind small scars that must be seamlessly blended into the surface.

Using an array of tools: grinders, files, chisels, rotary instruments, and even welding equipment, the artist works slowly and precisely, smoothing rough areas, restoring crisp lines, and re-sculpting any fine details that may have softened or shifted during casting.

This stage often takes many days or even weeks, especially for complex pieces, and is essential for preserving the artistic integrity of the original sculpture.

 

Step 10 - Applying the patina

At this final stage, bronze becomes more than form, it becomes emotion, atmosphere, and presence. The artist applies a patina, a surface finish created through the careful application of chemicals, heat, and flame. Using traditional and modern techniques, the bronze is treated with acids, oxides, and pigments, each reacting differently with the metal to produce a range of rich tones, from deep earthy browns and greens to vibrant blues, reds, and golds.

This is not a simple coating, it is an alchemical process, where timing, temperature, and the artist’s intuition come together in a moment of creative precision. A few seconds too long under the flame, or a shift in the angle of application, and the final result can change completely.

More than a finish, the patina is the artist’s signature touch, a final expression of vision, mood, and identity. It’s where the bronze takes on its soul, becoming not just a sculpture, but a work of art that breathes with light, shadow, and time. No two patinas are ever the same, making each piece truly one of a kind.