PORT TOWNSEND — Sculptor Tom Jay will explain the lost wax bronze casting process at the First Friday Lecture presented by the Jefferson County Historical Society on Feb. 5.
The lecture will be at 7 p.m. in the Port Townsend City Council chambers in historic City Hall, 540 Water St.
A donation of $5 is suggested. Proceeds will support historical society programs.
“Bronze casting is a hot, dirty and primal process,” said Bill Tennent, historical society executive director.
“The ancient technique was perfected by the Italians centuries ago, and it is still being practiced in much the same way by master bronze caster and sculptor Tom Jay.”
Mary Randlett, known for her photographs of Northwest landscapes and artists, photographed the creation and casting of Jay’s sculpture “Salmon Woman and Raven,” which is now in Highland Park in Bellevue. Randlett’s slides will illustrate the lecture.
In 1971, Jay founded Riverdog Fine Art Foundry, the first bronze foundry in the Northwest. In 1973, he moved it from Sumner to Chimacum. It ceased to exist as Riverdog in 2003.
Jay now operates Lateral Line in Chimacum.
Tony Angell, Hilda Morris, Phillip Levine, Everett Dupen and Ann Morris are just a few of the artists whom Jay has cast.
These artists and many more can be seen in the current exhibit, “Tom Jay – Artist & Artisan,” in the Jefferson Museum of Art & History, which is in the same building as the presentation.
The exhibit will be open for viewing following the lecture.
For more information on the exhibit, see www.jchsmuseum.org.
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Executive Editor Leah Leach can be reached at 360-417-3530 or at lleach@peninsuladailynews.com.
