METAL!

For X-mas this year Aurelia got me a lost-wax metal casting class at Pratt Fine Art Center here in Seattle. It was super fun making things out of silver. The class was taught by Jennifer Stenhouse, who was awesome. Our projects were oriented toward small, jewelry sized objects. I really had a lot of fun, but I would like to try larger work in the future. The bird skull above is a pendant for my sister. It's sort of a cross between a few different species, I just pulled out details I liked from crows, pheasants, and quail. She had just taken ornithology in school, and was super excited about bird taxidermy.


I made this ring for Aurelia out of a paper wasp nest, probably Polistes dominula, that I painted with liquid wax and set in a wax ring blank. It is as heavy as it looks.


This ring has another organic component, the head of some Asian Lucanidae beetle. I have no idea what genus it is. After being cast in metal the jaws are very sharp.


This is the wedding ring that my wife made for herself when she took the same class last year. I have one just like it. She was also my lovely hand-model.