Cuttlefish Casting
Learn a straightforward and easy casting technique which can quickly generate finished jewelry/small objects without a lot of equipment. Students will be able to carve and cast 1 - 2 pieces in silver with time left over for sprue removal and basic finishing.
A little history...
In Mediterranean countries, the use of cuttlebone as a mold to cast small objects has been widespread for centuries, and it was once common to see strings of cuttlebones hanging in any jeweler's shop. Today, lost-wax casting has completely supplanted the cuttlebone technique for large-scale reproducing purposes. However, just as painters found new ways to use their materials after the invention of photography, so cuttlebone, no more tied to the reproduction of models, can be explored as a creative tool.
It is the growth layers of calcium in the bone that are useful for jewelers as molds in casting molten metal. The varying densities of the layers react differently to the metal pour, and the result is a wavy texture (and funky odor) as the bone smolders and burns. The effect is well worth the stench though as it is serendipitously reminiscent of ripples or low tide patterns in sand or mud.
Meet the instructor
Ian Henderson was born in Germany where he attended an English speaking international school until the 8th grade, when he and his family moved to Overland Park, Kansas, where he attended high school.
Ian's Americanization was swift and brutal. He emerged from adolescence with a distrust of groups, a passion for the obscure, and an enduring inability to differentiate the novel from the obvious. It is these traits that pushed him out of the Midwest and towards America's eastern coastline. After finishing high school he attended the Rhode Island School of Design, and later Massachusetts College of Art in Boston, a city where he remains to this day; wavering on the precipice between calculated eccentricity and heroic perversion. His work represents an attempt to treat nebulous, passing, vision as Platonic Ideal; and bring it into manifestation through fierce application of technical virtuosity.
Inside all of us there are flickering moments folding into themselves. The task is to see them, hold them in mind, and take them seriously long enough that they can become tangible.
Materials & Tools
The $50 materials kits includes 2 large cuttlefish and an estimated 2 oz of sterling silver for casting (or as much as the fee will cover at the time of the class).
Students are encouraged to bring
- Any scrap silver they might have, as this material can also be used for casting.