Gordon Bowen, left, shows Richard Lewis, 78, a technique for sculpting wax during a small sculptures workshop at Bowen’s Arts Refoundry, outside downtown Los Angeles. The workshop, which cost $150, includes a demo, sculpting time and a final bronze casting, which is ready in 4 to 6 weeks. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)
Students begin with sticks of sculpting wax during a small sculptures workshop held at Arts Refoundry, outside downtown Los Angeles. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)
A drawing by Los Angeles artist Laura Larson helped inspire students under the tutelage of Gordon Bowen. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)
Richard Lewis, 78, a docent at the L.A. Zoo for more than 26 years, works on making a big cat face out of wax. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)
Gordon Bowen dips a wax sculpture into a slurry of ceramic binder with powdered silica, helping form a shell that will eventually have molten bronze poured into it. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)
Gordon Bowen closes the lid on the furnace he uses to melt bronze. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)
Gordon Bowen pours liquid bronze into shells at his Arts Refoundry, outside downtown Los Angeles. Bronze melts at 1,850 degrees but isn’t poured until it is about 2,100 degrees. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)
Liquid bronze, recently poured, begins to cool and change color. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)
Liquid bronze changes color and hardens as it cools. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)
Bronze molds are removed from their ceramic shells with the strike of a hammer. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)
A cast bronze sculpture made in a class at Arts Refoundry. (Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times)
A cast bronze sculpture. (Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times)
A cast bronze dragon figure. (Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times)
