IMMORTALIZED GRASSHOPPER

    I was out there raking up some leaves when I spotted a poor old grasshopper. He was cold and sluggish, probably very near the end of his life span (after all it is November) so it was not  much problem to catch him, but he kept wanting to wiggle and squirm around, even tried to kick me so I had to fumigate him. Then he kind of went flop like a dead grasshopper. I had a heck of a time to get him to sit up and look natural. I heated a stick of sprue wax and stuck to his head then placed him on a piece of wax paper and tried to work some casting investment plaster all around him. He was not quite in a natural position, but as close as I could get him. After the primer coat of investment had set up it was placed in a flask and filled full of more investment plaster. Then a 5 hour session through the burnout furnace where the temperature was gradually increased up to nearly 1400 degrees F., which volatilized organic material, and then reduced back to 900 degrees in the last hour prior to casting. The casting turned out good with excellent detail except for the antenna which were about as thick as a hair broke off.
    That grasshopper has now been immortalized forever in bronze.
    Can you imagine an 82 year old man messing around with something as silly as casting a grasshopper in bronze?

Note:
The two pictures showing the heating arrangement and pouring were simulated to give you and idea of the process. Working alone I could not photograph that part in action.