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How does the lost-wax process help create metal sculptures?

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Kara Walker: A Subtlety, or the Marvelous Sugar Baby — Sculpture Visitors viewing *A Subtlety, or the Marvelous Sugar Baby*, a sugar-coated polystyrene sculpture by Kara Walker, 2014, part of a temporary installation at the former Domino Sugar Refinery in Brooklyn, New York.

The lost-wax process is a sophisticated method of metal casting that allows artists to translate intricate designs into durable materials like bronze.

The process functions by creating a hollow mold from a wax model. To achieve this, a wax shell is created—often by brushing melted wax into a negative mold of an original clay model—and filled with a heat-resistant core. Wax tubes are attached to the exterior to serve as ducts for the molten metal and vents for gases. The entire assembly is then encased in layers of heat-resistant plaster and heated in an oven. As the plaster hardens, the wax melts and drains away, leaving a precise cavity.

Molten metal is then poured into this space, filling the exact void previously occupied by the wax. Once cooled, the plaster and core are removed, revealing the finished metal sculpture, which may then receive final surface refinements.12