Don Rich Studios is a 15,000 square-foot facility designed to produce every facet of metal work, from the sculptural process of lost wax casting, to metal fabrication, forging, welding, mold making and Blacksmithing.  His expertise in metal also encompasses restoration.

 

Studio space is also available for painting and drawing.  Often, two- dimensional processes are used to explore visual concepts for sculpture projects.

 

Born on an Indian reservation in Oklahoma, Don’s family moved to Idaho.  Here, he was introduced to metal. When he was eight years old, his father, a Blacksmith, set him to work forging nails.  Over time, as his knowledge of metal grew, Don was pushed to explore the material that would come to define him as an artist.

 

Don began to see the transformation of metal as a metaphor for the creative process. He moved to the San Francisco Bay Area to study at the College of Arts and Crafts, where he received his MFA in Sculpture with High Distinction.  Soon after, he traveled to Pietransanta, Italy, to further explore and master the techniques of Lost Wax Casting, 

 

Returning to the Bay Area, Don Rich opened his studio and art foundry.  His pioneering of innovative lost wax techniques, and the sharing of these processes opened lost wax casting to artists throughout the West Coast. He has served as a consultant to the Johnson Atelier in New Jersey, Morris Singer Foundry in Sheffield, England, and the Rudier Foundry in Paris, France.

 

Don’s unique skill, both as a craftsperson and artist, has enabled him to collaborate in casting the work of internationally renowned artist, such as: Henry Moore, Arnoldo Pomodoro, Noguchi and Claus Oldenburg.  He has also cast the work of Robert Graham, Beniamino Bufano, Ruth Asawa, Francisco Zuniga, Manuel Neri, Fletcher Benton and Nathan Olivera, and many others.

 

The current incarnation of Don Rich Studios enables Don to focus on his own sculpture, different commissions, architectural metals projects and restoration projects.