Alice Andrea Ewing
Pomarius is an ongoing design series led by Suffolk artist Alice Andrea Ewing. The collection has been produced through collaborations with gardens and notable botanical sites. The works are unique bronze herbarium specimens, produced through an adaptation of the Lost Wax casting process. Collections have been produced with a number of historical gardens in East Anglia as well as Soho House and the Eden Project. Her work has been featured in World of Interiors and the Telegraph.
“Every work is unique, a direct translation of the original organic specimen cast into bronze, capturing every detail and curiosity of form.”
Pomarius now consists of a wide variety of natural specimens, fruits, nuts, chillies and other varieties of plant and produce. Many of collections have developed from personal relations between people and their homes, specific or ancient trees, and shared memories within these places. In every case, the translation into bronze is understood as a making explicit of the inherent value already held by the organic specimens - a value understood by the gardeners and carers of these locations.
All works are seasonal, with small collections produced each year. The bronzes are cast and finished at the artist’s studio in Suffolk. Personal casting commissions are also available for the dedicated gardener.
Alice uses whats known as Italian Bronze casting, also known as Lost-wax process to create her works, this includes a clay model in bronze, a mold is made from the model, and the inside of this negative mold is brushed with melted wax to the desired thickness of the final bronze. After removal of the mold, the resultant wax shell is filled with a heat-resistant mixture. Metal pins are hammered through the shell into the core to secure it. Next, the prepared wax shell is completely covered in layers of heat-resistant plaster, and the whole is inverted and placed in an oven. During heating, the plaster dries and the wax runs out through the ducts created by the wax tubes. The plaster mold is then packed in sand, and molten bronze is poured through the ducts, filling the space left by the wax.
