One of Scotland's last art foundries opens doors to public for first time

One of Scotland’s few remaining fine art foundries is opening its doors to the general public for the first time.

Powderhall art foundry in Granton is celebrating 35 years since it was first launched by husband and wife Brian Caster and Kerry Hammond.

The public opening will allow people to learn about the ancient lost wax casting process, an art that dates back centuries.

Darren McFarlane, head casting technician at Powderhall Bronze, said: “It’s an eight-week process, so it can take a bit of time.

“At our max, we pour five times a week, which is every day of the working week, and usually about twice or three times.

“The bronze is about 1,200 degrees Celsius so it is really hot.”

The fine art foundry is one of few remaining in Scotland and works with artists from all over the world.

Kerry Hammond, director of Powderhall Bronze, said: “We set the foundry up in 1989 so this is our 35th year. Myself and my husband Brian, we started off working from a small bakery at the back of Powderhall stadium, as it was then in Edinburgh.

“We’ve grown and taken on more staff – we now have 23 members of staff and we’ve been fortunate enough to work on some really interesting projects over the years.”

On the tours people will get a chance to see behind the scenes of the bronze casting process all the way from the moulds, the wax castings to the final finished products – some of which are already available to see all across Edinburgh.

Among them are the David Hume Statue outside the High Court, the Ken Buchanan statue outside the St James Quarter and Scotland’s first memorial dedicated to NHS staff who worked during the Covid pandemic outside the Royal College of Surgeons.

And with these statues playing a vital part in Edinburgh’s rich heritage, the foundry are keen to give people a chance to see how history is made