Wait, not that exactly: she says that I should make some useful art, sculptures that serve a purpose or do something, such as jump over tall buildings or save kittens from trees. That seemed too complicated, so I have made a vase. Not too big––sort of medium-sized, rolled from a hand-poured sheet of wax and hand-cast in bronze. And then polished like the dickens.

The patina is a high polish bronze interior contrasting with a slightly rusty-colored exterior, with the edges of my swirled-wax surface buffed off to add highlights.

I poured molten wax onto a wet sheet of canvas, waited for the wax to cool, and then peeled it up. I tore some edges of the warm wax and left some found edges, and rolled it into a cylinder. Poorly. So I unrolled it and wrapped it around a found cylinder so that I could get the right curve and form. I poked and stretched it, piecing it together, flaring out the top and opening up some of the holes that had begun in the initial wax pour.

A pinch here. A tuck there, and then hours getting the swirled texture I love in the wax. The bottom is extra thick, to increase weight and provide balance, so it will stand tall long after lesser vases have cried “Uncle” and crawled back to Mommy.

I love its sweep and flair. The inside is highly polished bronze with the hint of a ferric patina, while the outside has the look of graphite, highlights buffed out to reveal the beauty of the bronze below.