The clay
PROCESS
Materials & Methods
Natalie primarily uses water-based clays for immediacy and responsiveness, allowing subtle adjustments to gesture and rhythm as the form unfolds. The Śakti Goddess series is modeled in terracotta, a choice that honors millennia of sacred figuration across South Asia and the Mediterranean, and that preserves the intimacy of the artist’s touch in fired earthenware.
Over decades she has worked with a range of clays to suit scale and structure:
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White and red sculpture clays for their balanced plasticity and edge definition.
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B-mix (with and without grog) when a porcelaneous smoothness or added structural strength is needed; grog provides tooth and reduces shrinkage in larger, load-bearing passages.
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Paper clay for delicate joins and thin, lyrical elements that benefit from extra tensile strength while drying.
Natalie has sculpted in clay since the mid-1970s, building forms by slab and coil, time-honored handbuilding techniques that invite a measured, architectural approach to the figure. This method privileges the slow calibration of weight, counterweight, and the flow of planes, so that light moves across the surface as convincingly as muscle moves beneath skin.
From Clay to Kiln
Once a clay work reaches equilibrium, walls evened, stress points relieved, moisture balanced, it is dried and fired in the kiln. Firing fixes the drawing-in-clay into a durable ceramic body, preserving tool marks and finger work that carry the immediacy of the studio into the finished piece. In terracotta, warm iron tones and micro-textures amplify the sculpture’s tactile presence, recalling ancient votive figures and devotional statuary.
From Clay to Bronze
Many works also become bronzes through the lost-wax process. When a sculpture is destined for metal, Natalie first creates a mold from the completed clay. This allows a wax to be taken and refined before the piece proceeds through ceramic shell, metal pour, metal chasing, and patination. Even when realized in bronze, the sculpture retains the intelligence of the clay, the planes, edges, and breathing volumes first found by hand remain legible in metal, just as they have in figurative bronzes for more than five thousand years.
Why Clay
Clay is both elemental and exacting. It records the smallest decision, pressure of a thumb, lift of a rib tool, the rounding that turns anatomy into expression. For Natalie, this is essential to figurative truth. Clay lets the sculptor “draw in space”: to test balance, to refine silhouette, to orchestrate light and shadow until form becomes presence. In this way, her practice joins the classical and academic lineage in which the figure is central, not as motif, but as the most complete vehicle for human dignity, emotion, and spirit.
In every finished bronze or fired terracotta, the clay remains: the first language of the work, the locus of discovery, and the enduring bridge between tradition and a living, contemporary practice.
Behind the Work
Lost Wax Process
The lost-wax process is one of the oldest methods for casting sculpture, practiced for thousands of years across cultures. From the Bronze Age in Europe and the Mediterranean to the Indus Valley Civilization, where the famous Dancing Girl of Mohenjo-daro (c. 2300 BCE) was created, artists have used this technique to capture the vitality of the human form.
In South India, the tradition reached an extraordinary height during the Chola dynasty (9th–13th centuries), when bronze icons of Shiva, Parvati, and other deities were cast using lost-wax methods and continue to be revered in temples today.
The technique likely traveled westward through ancient trade and cultural exchange, taking root in Greece and Rome, where it was employed for portrait busts, equestrian monuments, and mythological figures.
During the Italian Renaissance, artists such as Donatello and Benvenuto Cellini revived and perfected the method, using it to achieve remarkable detail, fluid drapery, and expressive gesture in their bronzes.
By working in this tradition, Natalie connects with centuries of global figurative practice. Each stage requires the same discipline and focus as that of both classical and temple sculptors, mastering anatomy, surface texture, and the interplay of light and shadow. In her work, the patina, the form, and the gesture are as critical as the original drawing; all elements reflect her commitment to the figure as central to art’s ability to convey presence, spirit, and human emotion.
From clay original to finished bronze, each stage is an act of transformation, capturing form, texture, and spirit.
Below are the steps as Natalie undertakes them, each reflecting both technical rigor and artistic vision. The full process typically takes 8 to 12 weeks from beginning to end.
Step 1: Original Sculpture
The process begins with clay. Natalie sculpts the original figure, often over a period of months, developing proportion, gesture, and presence in three-dimensional form. This clay model is her expressive blueprint. She refines surface, anatomy, and all details until the form “speaks” with life. This clay figure is the “master model,” the foundation for everything that follows.
Step 2: Mold Making
Once the clay original is complete, it is prepared for molding. A release agent is applied, and a flexible rubber mold is built, inner layers to capture every high point and recess of the clay surface. A rigid “mother mold” (often made of fiberglass and resin) follows to support and hold the flexible mold in its correct shape. If the sculpture is large or complex, mold segments are made so the piece can be recreated faithfully and in sections.
Step 3: Wax Casting
Once the mold has been prepared, the next stage is to create a wax version of the sculpture. This step is essential because it captures every detail of the original clay while producing a form light enough to be worked on further.
The mold is first opened, and a thin coat of melted wax is painted into the rubber interior to record the finest textures and contours of the artist’s masterwork. The mold is then closed and secured. Additional wax is poured in and the mold is gently rotated so the liquid wax coats the interior evenly. Once the wax cools and hardens, any excess is poured out.
This process is repeated until the wax wall reaches the desired thickness , usually about 3/16 of an inch, or roughly the thickness of a few stacked coins. The result is a hollow wax duplicate of the original clay sculpture. When the mold is carefully removed, the wax replica emerges: identical in form to the clay original, but much lighter and more workable for the next stages.
Step 4: Wax Chasing
The hollow wax copy is now “chased,” a sculptural term meaning cleaned, refined, and perfected. Seams left from the mold are carefully smoothed away, air bubbles or surface blemishes are filled, and fine details are sharpened so that nothing is lost in the final bronze.
During this stage, small register marks are also added to guide precise alignment in later assembly, especially for larger works cast in multiple sections. If the piece is part of a limited edition, Natalie will sign and number the wax version at this point, establishing both authorship and authenticity.
This meticulous refining ensures that the wax captures the artist’s intent with absolute fidelity, every subtle gesture, texture, and line preserved before the sculpture begins its transformation into bronze.
Step 5: Adding Sprues and Pouring Cup
Next, a system of wax rods, called sprues and gates, is attached to the wax sculpture, along with a larger funnel-shaped piece known as the pouring cup. This network functions like plumbing for the casting: when molten bronze is eventually poured, it enters through the cup, flows evenly through the sprues, and any trapped air escapes through the same channels.
The careful arrangement of these rods is critical. If placed incorrectly, the bronze could cool unevenly, leave gaps, or create weak points. When done properly, the sprue system ensures that the molten metal fills every contour of the sculpture, capturing the artist’s details with precision.
Step 6: Ceramic Shell (Investment)
The entire wax sculpture, complete with its sprues and pouring cup, is repeatedly dipped into a liquid ceramic slurry, a fine, glue-like mixture, and then coated with silica sand. Each coat dries before the next is applied. Layer by layer, a hard ceramic shell forms around the wax.
The number of layers depends on the size and weight of the sculpture: small pieces may require 6–8 coats, while larger bronzes can need 10–12 or more. This shell must be strong enough to withstand the intense heat of molten bronze, while still delicate enough to capture every surface detail of the wax.
Step 7: Losing the Wax and Bronze Casting
Once the ceramic shell is fully dry, it is placed in a kiln. The heat serves two purposes: it hardens the shell and causes the wax inside to melt out through the sprue system. This stage, where the wax is literally “lost” leaves behind a hollow ceramic mold, a perfect negative of the original sculpture.
With the ceramic mold still hot from the kiln, molten bronze, glowing at nearly 2,000°F (1,100°C), is carefully poured into the pouring cup. The metal flows through the sprues, filling the cavity left by the melted wax. As the bronze cools, it solidifies into the exact shape of the artist’s model, preserving even the most delicate textures.
Step 8: Devesting
When the bronze has cooled, the ceramic shell is carefully broken away. This step, called “devesting,” reveals the rough bronze casting for the first time. The sprues and pouring cup, now also in solid bronze, are cut away. What remains is the sculpture in its new, enduring form, though still in need of refinement. It is then sandblasted to remove any remaining shell material from the intricate details of the casting.
Step 9: Welding & Assembly
If the sculpture was cast in sections, the separate bronze pieces are carefully aligned and welded together. The joins are refined and inspected; any imperfections or casting inclusions are corrected. This is also when the sculpture is visually unified, making sure joints are invisible and the form reads as one continuous whole.
Step 10: Metal Chasing & Finishing
Metal chasing involves refining the surface, smoothing areas that need it, sharpening details, cleaning the bronze. Welding seams are polished and integrated. This step restores the nuance and finish intended in the clay original.
Step 11: Patination
The final surface color of the sculpture, called the patina, is created by applying heat and specialized chemicals to the bronze. Under the flame of a torch, the metal reacts with these solutions to produce tones ranging from deep browns and blacks to luminous greens, golds, and reds. Each patina is unique, part science, part artistry, giving the sculpture its final character and depth. A protective layer of wax or lacquer is then applied to preserve the surface. Using controlled heat (torches) and various metal salts, oxides, and chemical pigments, Natalie creates the final tones and textures that define how light plays across the form. After achieving the desired patina, the piece is protected with lacquer or wax to preserve color and finish.
Step 12: Attaching a Base
The completed bronze may be mounted on a custom base of stone, wood, or metal, chosen to complement its form and scale. At this point, the transformation is complete: what began as a fragile clay model has become a permanent bronze sculpture, ready to take its place in a collection, gallery, or sacred space.
Step 13: Crating & Shipping
The finished work is prepared for transit with utmost care. It is secured in a custom-built wooden crate, appropriately cushioned and protected so that every dimension of the sculpture, including its surface and integrity, arrives safely with the collector or institution.