Exhibitions Archives - Bronze Africa by John Tolmay

John Tolmay exhibits his bronze sculptures and statues at numerous art exhibitons around the continental United States. These include, Dallas Safari Club, South Eastern Wildlife Exposition (SEWE), Safari Club International, Waterfowl, Maryland, The Sheep Show, Cottonwood Art Festival and Loveland Art Show. He holds private exhibitions from his studio in Franklin from time to time.

Bringing the Gwasi Bull to life

What you see in the image gallery below is the process of taking the sculpture from the clay to the bronze. The mold is made up of many pieces and a not single piece as one might imagine. You can see that the final piece is never solid but in fact hollow inside. Can you imagine the weight of a piece like this if it was solid?! This process applies to all my bronzes no matter how big or small they are. This one happens to be my largest piece to date.

The Gwasi Bull is made up of some 50 odd pieces of individually cast pieces of bronze that are then expertly welded together to make up the sculpture. This is an incredibly important process that requires a truly skilled artisan and craftsman to make it happen the right way. Thereafter the patina is painstakingly applied. This process too requires patience and skill and a real vision of what one wants the sculpture to look like in the end.

I think the picture of myself, Kevin and Jimmy says it all. I am very very happy with how this is coming together. Number 1 of this sculpture will be making its home with a long-time collector of my work here in Texas and there will be 4 more cast – so if you’re interested in having a Gwasi Bull of your own you know where to find me.

Look out for the final piece in an upcoming newsletter.

Georgie2022-07-26T22:23:21-04:00July 24th, 2022|Commission, Elephant, Exhibitions, Large, News|

Behind the Scenes

A lot of people have started to ask me about the Foundry and what it is like to bring a wax or a clay piece to life. So I have put together a little series of images for you give you a feeling of what the ‘back-end’ of my work looks like.

In order of appearance:

Putting the patina on the piece called Gentle Giant of the Savannah. It’s messy work and the chemicals are noxious and dangerous to say the least but it’s that careful blending of heat and chemicals that brings up all the texturing and nuances in the piece and this is what I already have in my mind when I am still in the wax or clay stage.
Putting the patina on Belligerence – thought it was never going to end but I had a very clear idea of what I wanted to achieve. Very happy with the result.
Cal Paulson handling the heat. Here he is putting the finishing touches to the Stag that was made for the Deer Path Inn.
Sculpting the moose that we will be collecting next week from the Foundry.
The new hydraulic lift we have had to purchase in order to be able to move all 250lbs of Belligerence around. A great tool that will be useful for a few others too. Not getting any younger you know.

Georgie2019-11-18T17:45:00-04:00November 30th, 2016|Antelope, Cape Buffalo, Exhibitions, News|

Safari Club International

Recent articles published in the Safari Club Magazine featured two Award pieces which I was commissioned to do for them.

The Norman Rhino was presented to the Hall of Fame award winner, Barbara Strawberry. Barbara has been a force of energy and drive for not only her own Chapter of Safari Club but the SCI cause in general.

Safari Club International went on to say this about her. “Barbara went on her first hunt in 1990 with her husband Bill. It was in Zimbabwe that she took her first trophy – a warthog! Barbara continued with 6 more safaris to Africa and hunted in Spain, Scotland, Idaho, Wyoming, Texas and Maryland. She’s fished Africa, the Amazon, Florida Keyes, Maryland and Alaska.”

I am proud to have been invited to be part of a select group of artists to exhibit at the new Miniature Art Showcase and Sale at Safari Club International in Las Vegas in 2014. The challenge to sculptors is to make a piece that can be no more than 12″ square.

Georgie2019-08-07T22:22:04-04:00July 16th, 2013|Exhibitions, News, Rhino|