My friend Ken Cook, who has died aged 78 after a fall, was a foundryman. There are not many such artists in England today, and few in the world, to equal his skill. He made lost-wax casting better than most, and famous sculptors would attend his outstanding workshops.
Ken described himself a plagiarist – he would work collaboratively, taking another sculptor’s work and altering the surface. He would listen keenly to his sculptor clients, looking for concise and insightful finishing, chiselling, hammering, moulding, welding and polishing skills. Ken’s unusual patinas were in contrast to the majority of bronzes produced elsewhere, and his craftsmanship is reflected in the reputation of the artists Ken worked with: Elisabeth Frink, Ann Christopher, Ralph Brown, Leonard McComb, Robert Clatworthy, to name a few.
