Bigfork's Thorsen family breathes new life into casting business

World renowned Bigfork artist Eric Thorsen is well known for his paintings and sculptures, but he is now forging a new reputation helping other creators by keeping open the doors of the Kalispell Art Foundry.

Established as a collaboration between local artists Jack Muir and Jon Olson in 1979 (known then as Kalispell Art Casting), the business was enduring tough times over the past few years and was in danger of shutting its doors for good when Eric and his wife Cyndy decided to buy it late last year.

Friends of Muir, the Thorsens said they were saddened by the prospect of the many artists from around the world who use the business having to find new facilities to produce their work.

“We wanted to make sure that the Flathead Valley continued to have a foundry,” Cyndy Thorsen said. “There is a strong group from around the country and beyond that cast here and we wanted to keep that tradition alive. Buying this place was a business decision, be we are running this place for others more than we are for ourselves.”

With resolve, grit and a bronze determination, the Thorsens are hard at work restoring and upgrading the facility to its full potential.

Along with plans to turn the front room of the building into an art gallery, the couple have been painting walls, replacing doors and working to create a multi-purpose space where art classes can be taught in the future.

“It’s a big endeavor, but it is also a whole lot of fun,” Cyndy said. “We are just giving everything a new coat of paint and cleaning up the corners so we can pick up right where (Muir) left off.”

The process used by the foundry is an ancient one, dating as far back as 6,000 years or more.

Lost-wax casting, also known as investment casting, is the process by which a duplicate sculpture is cast from an original sculpture.

While the most common medium is bronze, the process can also be used to produce works in a variety of metals, including silver, gold and brass.

While modern technology has streamlined the process somewhat, the art of lost-wax casting continues to use many of the basic principles that date back to ancient Bulgaria and Pakistan.

The process begins with the original model, which can be made from clay or other materials.

A mold is made of the original using silicone rubber encased in a fiberglass reinforced plaster jacket.

Hot wax is poured into the mold to once again produce a positive casting, which is removed from the mold and cleaned of any excess wax in a process known as “chasing.”

Once chasing of the wax is completed, the wax copy is sprued with a treelike structure of wax that will eventually provide paths for the molten casting material to flow in and for air to escape.

Next, the sprued wax copy is dipped into a slurry of silica, then into sand to create an “investment shell,” the mold into which the molten metal will be poured.

Using a furnace that heat the metal to more than 2,000 degrees, the artists pour the molten bronze into the investment shell to create the final copy of the original piece.

Once cooled, the bronze piece is separated from the investment shell and taken to a metal shop for another round of chasing, this time using welding, metal cutting and grinding equipment.

The final touch is the addition of patina, a process that uses chemical solutions and heat to produce the final color of the piece.

The entire process is extremely intricate and can reproduce pieces in exquisite detail from artwork that would pit in the palm of a hand to larger-than-life animals and figures.

“There are a lot of different kinds of art that we reproduce. Sometimes it is more realistic than others. Sometimes it is highly detailed and sometimes it is very simplified,” Cyndy said. “There is a wide range of the types of work that artists bring to us but we are happy to do them all.”

While the Thorsens have been able to keep up with the workload with their 10 employees, they say 15-17 would be ideal.

“All you need is an eye for detail and the ability to follow a project from beginning to end,” Cyndy said.