Frank Eliscu's Books

Direct Wax Sculpture
By Frank Eliscu

Welcome to the world of Direct Wax Sculpture. For those who venture into this old medium—a favorite of the Renaissance sculptors, but only recently "rediscovered"—a whole new world of experience awaits you. The tactile sensation of working in wax is different from that of other sculpture media . Its responsiveness to temperature, its sensitivity to touch and its honest in response to detail gives it a sense of immediacy.
For those seeking to express themselves in a personal and fluid medium, nothing can surpass wax. Just the heat of your hands will soften it and a dash of cold water will harden it and, best of all, if not subjected to extreme heat it can last forever.
  For the sculptor who wants a medium for quick sketches that retain his freshness of concept, nothing is superior to wax. In this book we start with the simplest projects and explore the possibilities of our medium and, gradually, through the different techniques possible with wax, we are working in the most advanced and sophisticated areas of sculpture.
 As a wax is a transient medium, Mr. Eliscu takes us to the ultimate destination of wax, the foundry, and finally to the bronze itself. In other words, from the sculptor's fingers to the finished bronze, we can follow it all in this book.
Here are experimentation, improvisation and new horizons. DIRECT WAX SCULPTURE is a definitive guide to an ancient, increasingly popular craft. Frank Eliscu's previous book, Sculpture: Techniques in Clay, Wax, Slate, established him as the leading authority on the subject.

Sculpture: Techniques in Clay, Wax, Slate
by Frank Eliscu

For anyone who has always wanted to try sculpture, this fresh approach offers a simple and direct guide to a wonderful new world. The author presents the easy A B C's of three-dimensional expression in the contrasting mediums of clay, wax, and slate—materials easily obtainable everywhere.
Hundreds of step-by-step photographs make this a book of easy-to-follow visual instruction with fundamental how-to processes clearly and concisely delineated in graphic succession.
For the sculptor who wants to broaden his horizons in his craft, valuable new perspectives are provided in the handling of three traditional techniques. And for those who have pursued standard sculptural methods as far as they can, brand-new avenues of expression are opened up in this volume.
Since it is the author's premise that the entire concept of sculpture is embodied in and can be expressed by clay, the incipient sculptor is taught first how to think in three dimensions, using clay as a medium for sketching in the round.
The venerable art form of work with wax is here revived and explained in detail—from casting small figures in bronze to large statuary which must be cast in a foundry.
Slate too, is discussed in detail as a quick and elementary, but highly sophisticated, technique for rendering shallow bas-relief in stone.
As the sculptor works with this photographic interpretation of one of the oldest of the arts, he experiences the satisfaction of developing his talent to the fullest degree.
The bronze Naiad by Frank Eliscu was installed in the lobby of a New York City skyscraper.