The Lava Flow

This is the moment when the bronze objects from the previous post were created in spectacular fashion.

Poured from one seriously hot crucible...

The violence which is required to make beautiful metal objects never ceases to make me wonder about this apparent dichotomy. We so often think that beauty is effortless, painless and perfect. But so much of what we consider beautiful in jewellery is created through extreme circumstances. This is usually achieved by either human or nature though pressures and temperatures which our organic bodies couldn't possible withstand. The amazing physical qualities of the materials which smiths and jewellers use everyday is a source of wonder which keeps me coming back for more.

In my experience as a gold and silversmith I have found that the pieces which have taken the most struggle are the ones of which I am most proud.

When Clouds become Mountains

The soft pink wax 'clouds' from the Waxen Clouds and Caverns post (all the way back in Feb) have now been cast in bronze.

Now heavy both in weight and with surface oxide these small objects now appear much more like rocky crags than soft, sunset clouds.

Or perhaps the lava flows which have solidified upon contact with the ocean at each such catastrophic seaside event.

Is this the rib of some hither-to undiscovered dinosaur with with a degenerative bone disease? The real reason why T-rex and his mates collapsed into extinction?

18 Carats of ingot

This is my first gold perchase.



This shot gives you a better idea of the scale of my first gold perchase, heheh.



Fortunately my mum had some old gold jewellery she nolonger wares and was happy for me to add this to my 2g of 24ct gold. I then balanced out the mix with some fresh copper and fine silver in order to keep the alloy at 18ct.



And there it is freshly poured, shinny and beautiful straight out of the ingot mould. Now I just have to decide what to do with it...