sculpture fabrication

[tevj]

Hi, i am primarily a painter, but for many years i have been doing drawings for 3 dimensional objects.
Not having the skills required to fabricate these pieces i was wondering if there were places that someone such as myself could go to, with my drawings and have the sculptures made.
I am interested in having pieces made in different mediums..marble,bronze,stainless steel, just to name a few.
Is what i am after available?...or am i dreaming?
ALSO
has anyone heard of 'cast stone'?...i saw a small piece in a gallery and am intrigued by the medium and the process.
Cheers, Tim.

[fused]

There are hopefully fabrication shops (metalworks, welding shops) who can make sculptures from your designs in mild steel, stainless steel, bronze plate etc. A foundry would be required for molds, modeled forms, small editions in cast bronze, aluminum etc. and a monument works, concrete forming company, etc. might be able to accomodate cast stone, marble and granite. There are many facilities out there that specialize in sculpture and with any luck one might be found near you.

Without images and scale it is hard to be very specific, but those are the types of skilled specialists you will probably have to seek out. Paying others to do the work is expensive, particularly for large sculptures in permanent materials. A sculpture I can make for $30k (US) starts at around $80k if I pay a fabricator to build it.

[warren01]

Tim,
One of the problems that you will run into is "How do you want it made?". Other words what you design may have many different techniques and processes on how to make. If you work with other artist you have probably noticed they all have their own little techniques. Therefore when designing knowing the different types of techniques or lets say brush strokes will let you know if that person can make your design.

Fabrication (steel/metal) shops work more or less with just straight lines or shapes that can be made by a machine. For example if you can design it in CAD they could make it.

On another note I have seen several designs people dream up to have made but to be practical and feasible to make is impossible. Well maybe not impossible, just depends on how much you want to spend to design tools and methods for building. Best thing is know a little about the different processes, materials, and resources to build your designs. Engineering and building may influence your designs.

warren

[Ries]

I am not familiar with whats up in Australia, but here in the USA, there are quite a few shops that specialise in making art for artists. They usually work on very large scale pieces, in metal, stone, plastics, and cast materials.
For instance, Fabrication Specialties, in Seattle, does almost exclusively artworks and very high end ornamental work for artists and architects. They are capable of making anything you can pay them to do- not just straight lines, by any means. There are other, similar shops, in most major cities in the USA.

Here is a quote from a website about them-

Fabrication Specialties Limited, based in Seattle, is owned and operated by artists and
works for artists. It’s a combination that has proved successful for the 24 year-old
company with a strong commitment to their employees, customers and community.
Owners Larry Tate and Gerald McGuiness believe strongly that artists remain an essential
ingredient in communities and help establish and define a society in unique ways. The
two business partners also believe in the value of the artisans and artists they employ,
and set the industry standard for pay and employee benefits. Employees are offered
health insurance and a retirement plan.
Fabrication Specialties, which fabricates and installs works for artists and public and
private agencies, was started because the owners wanted both to make a living in the
arts (other than teaching or selling their own art) and to help offset the costs of setting
up a sculpture studio by working on collaborative projects with other artists. The business
of building works quickly became full-time.
Fabrication Specialties contributes to the local economy through the workforce and
subcontractors they hire as well as by bringing business from out of the state; 75-80%
of their business comes from clients outside Washington.
Regardless of the economic impacts, Larry Tate believes its most significant contribution
is a hard working, professional company that continues to be a resource for artists as
well as an advocate for the arts.
“Our company has been fortunate enough to work with hundreds of artists, on a broad
range of projects, throughout the country and around the world. We have met and
worked with some remarkable people, and we value that experience as much as the
work itself,� Tate said