Doing Business / CASTING BRONZE : At Art Foundry, Each Project Gets Done by Degrees

The workday begins very early at the Art Foundry in Buena Park--about 4 a.m., in fact.

That’s because the cool morning hours make working with molten bronze, heated to a temperature of 2,100 degrees, almost tolerable.

But the day often ends early too, typically around 1 p.m.

Owner Barry Spear says his foundry, which employs 20 to 25 workers at various times, churns out an average of 200 pieces a week, from objets d’art to custom hardware for antiques. One unusual job called for the casting of a complete human skeleton.

But no matter what the subject, it can always be said of a bronze casting that once it was made, they broke the mold. There’s no other way to get it out.