Castings made by Kasli masters, using their own models.

The museum exhibition has a small section where visitors can see art castings made by Kasli masters, using their own models.
Attention of visitors is invariably attracted by the works created by Vasily Fedorovich Torokin, who was born in Kasli settlement. Being an experienced master of his craft, he went to factory school to the classes of Mikhail Denisovich Kanayev, a talented professional sculptor, a graduate of the Academy of Arts. Torokin was an excellent model-maker, molder, founder, metal chaser and fitter; therefore, he made all his castings by himself from start to finish. Among the displayed works of the remarkable Kasli master you can see both versions of his sculpture “The Founder at Work”, which show with documentary precision the creative and meticulous work of the representative of the foundry-men profession. The display includes a matchbox holder – “An Old Woman with a Spinning-Wheel” – that inspired the famous Ural writer Pavel Petrovich Bazhov to write his fairy-tale story “The Cast Iron Grandmother”.
The art of another resident of Kasli – Dmitry Ilich Shirokov, a model-maker, founder and metal chaser – is represented by genre sculptures that are very realistic in portraying the everyday life and work of children of Ural mining factory workers. Visitors of all ages can never pass by without looking at his paperweight “Crayfish” made with great humor.
Kuzma Dmitrievich Tarasov, a model-maker from Kasli settlement like Torokin and Shirokov, also studied at Kanayev’s art school; however, judging by his works, he was much more interested in applied and decorative art than in sculpture. His works are very functional – the box “The Sled with Cast Iron” and ash-trays of different shapes are made as miniature cookware and utensils.