The Materials Employed at www.japanese-home-gardens.com

Casting is the process of producing objects, or reproducing the form of objects, by putting into a mold a plastic or temporarily fluid material which will assume and retain the shape of the mold. Since casting is extensively used in industry, a great variety of techniques and materials have been developed for specific needs. Nearly all of these procedures and materials may be used for the casting of sculpture, however only a few are much employed by the sculptor.

SCULPTURE is the art of shaping figures or organizing forms in three dimensions. Most commonly the shaping is achieved by carving, by modeling or by casting, though other procedures, for instance beating and welding, are also used. The materials employed are extremely varied and range from plastic, amorphous substances, such as clay, to the hardest of stones and metals. The techniques and processes of fashioning sculpture vary with the nature of the materials shaped.

Water employed primarily as a coolant does not have to be exceptionally free from dissolved material, and even seawater is used if a certain amount of corrosion can be tolerated or if it is economical to employ highly resistant materials of construction.