The lost wax glass sculpture process…
People ask if I sketch design ideas on paper. The answer is, “I can’t draw at all.” I have never been able to convert my 3-D mental images into 2-D pencil drawings.
With all my pieces (whether glass or wood), I’ve always sketched the outlines of the design I “see” in my mind onto the material I will sculpt. The lines are merely guidance.
The creative process continues through rough sculpting. These photos are meant to give you a better idea of my lost wax glass sculpture technique – and a sneak preview of the what’s currently in progress.
![Doodle](https://www.pollittstudio.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/POLLITT-Doodle_large-version-e1548908781473.jpg)
Works in Progress
This business is never over! Thank goodness!
Coaster!
Thought it was time to do my second horizontal piece. (Levitation was my first.) And it seems this one wants to become kin with E-Ride, Zest and Entwined. (Do we have a small series emerging here?) [Update: It’s now March 2022 with other pieces completed. Still, Coaster! awaits. Don’t give up on me!]
![A tube of brown wax on its side, bolstered by square chunks of wax at both ends. No hint of its future design.](https://www.pollittstudio.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/hps-wip-coaster-1.jpg)
![Actually, Tootsie Roll would be a great name for a roller coaster. The brown wax takes shape.](https://www.pollittstudio.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/hps-wip-coaster-2.jpg)
![Already named Coaster!, even in wax, the design begins to live up to its name.](https://www.pollittstudio.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/hps-wip-coaster-3.jpg)
Victory
Victory, the work-in-progress glass piece below, has two stories.
Back around 2003, I was commissioned to create a memorial baptismal font for a church in Gahanna, Ohio. The design was inspired by the Winged Victory and I named my piece Gabriella. Click her name for the story.
I always liked the design and kept seeing it downsized to a hand-held, cast glass sculpture.
Unfortunately, the first attempt failed. That became the second story. The mold blew out during the firing process. But, my vision of the design wouldn’t go away. So, I sculpted it again…with much greater success.
Watch this space for the final edition.
![](https://www.pollittstudio.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Font.jpg)
![](https://www.pollittstudio.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Pollitt_VICTORY_Foundry-glass.jpg)
![A front-view of a brown wax cylinder with faint design lines and initial sculpting. Takes more than a little imagination to foresee the outcome.](https://www.pollittstudio.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/hps-wip-victory-1.jpg)
![Swept-back winged design becomes apparent as Pollitt coaxes the wax toward his version of Winged Victory.](https://www.pollittstudio.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/hps-wip-victory-2.jpg)
![With more wax removed, Pollitt lightens up the wings of his progressing design.](https://www.pollittstudio.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/hps-wip-victory-3.jpg)
![The hollowed out center of the wax model dramatizes the swept-back design of the wings.](https://www.pollittstudio.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/hps-wip-victory-4.jpg)
Raptor
In keeping with the “winged” theme, designs for Raptor landed one morning in my mind as I awakened. The ideas compelled me to capture them. Balancing this piece will be a real challenge. Wish me luck!
![At such an early stage, this horizontal wax cylinder with three round-footed supports could be a bridge design. But it is not!](https://www.pollittstudio.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/hps-wip-raptor-1.jpg)
![Two steep arches joined in the center by an up-swept, off-the-ground member hint at the design to come.](https://www.pollittstudio.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/hps-wip-raptor-2.jpg)
![From cylinder to something almost airborne, Pollitt's wax sculpture of a Raptor shows promise. Imagine it in glass!](https://www.pollittstudio.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/hps-wip-raptor-3.jpg)
In case you are wondering, these three pieces will be part of my Small Treasures group and were intended to be fired in the kiln together. Ah, yes! It may have saved time and money on the one hand, but firing three at once would have increased risk and my stress level on the other. As it turns out, my schedule postponed this 3-in-1 event.