23 Jun 2011

Silver Casting with Catherine Zoraida


Ever tried to find the perfect peanut?


Well we did, and it took us a lot of time and a LOT of peanuts to get there!

Mind, this is one lucky peanut as he is going to become our latest work of art.
We have been lucky enough to get to spend a little time with the lovely Catherine Zoraida who is a silver casting genius. She is going to make our little peanut a little star!


Using a silicone gum and some badger balm we make a mould of the peanut for casting. Not only is it super fun, but super quick too; always a winner if you ask us!


Once it has set after a few minutes you can pop it out of the mold ... ours got a little too enthusiastic about being in the mold so he needed a little help to get out!

Then using some silver clay we cast from the imprint.
Silver clay is incredible; it works just like normal clay, meaning you can make whatever you please. You then stick it in a kilm making the moisture evaporate and you are left with silver. How awesome is that? Mind, you need an oven that cooks at 700 degrees to do it. Fortunately Catherine had one to hand! So, once the imprint has set it, pop it out of the mold and put it in the kilm for about 15-20 mins. Once cooked and cooled all you need to do is give it a little brush down to reveal your new treasure...


TaDa!
Isn't he just beautiful?
We cant believe how quick this was to make... and how perfect it has turned out!
We would like to say a big thank you to Miss Zoraida for making our peanut dreams come true!
One day we would like to make a whole plate of silver peanuts... and a silver squirrel to sit beside them :D


To find out more about the adorable and very talented Catherine, click here
She has cast so many pretty things we aren't quite sure where to look. One thing is for sure though - we know where all our birthday money is going this year!

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