Chasing and Repoussé Panel

Wax Carving Process

First make sure you are casting a material that can burn out in the kiln like wax or sticks and leaves. Natural objects can be unpredictable when cast as their shapes may change when moulded and heated. Also be sure to only cast any gemstones that can withstand the heat of the casting process, so only stones which are high up on the Mohs scale of hardness.

Ensure your design is sprued correctly, allowing the plaster and eventually the molten metal to flow into every crevice. Calculate the weight of the metal you are going to use, ensuring to factor in the sprues and subtract the weight of any gemstones or other materials that won’t be going into the kiln.

Each metals has a different wax/metal ratio. Simply multiply the weight of your wax model by the wax/metal ratio of the metal you’re using.

The next step is to create the plaster mould of your wax design. To do this, place your sprued model onto the rubber sprue base and put it into the plaster flask. Be sure to block the holes in the canister and then pour the plaster into the can.

Following this, the flask is shaken to allow the plaster to set with all the details from the wax model.

The mould is then placed in a kiln where the wax burns out, leaving just the plaster mould.

The molten metal of choice is then poured into the the plaster mould, the flask must still be hot for the process to work.

The flask holding the molten metal is transferred to a vacuum casting machine where the metal is encouraged into all the crevices in the mould.

Once this is done, the canister can be removed from the vacuum and quenched, removing the bulk of the plaster and revealing the finished metal cast. Final Wax Carving Designs

Wax Casting Designs

Sabrina Moranne

I love that Mornanne’s work is one of a kind and she tries not to make the same work twice, only with a small variation if essential. This is something I think gives a designer’s work an even more handcrafted and personal feel. I find her influences very interesting, most of her designs are inspired by mythical beings and tarot card illustrations which I always think are very beautiful. Her choice of materials, the gold castings coupled with multiple gemstones for example, fit well with her inspirations which I also like.

Emily Nixon

Emily Nixon’s work is a real inspiration for me as she, like me, is heavily influenced by the natural world. She is particularly intrigued by the organic forms she comes across where she lives, on the coast of Cornwall. I think her design influences really come through in her work, specifically through the textures and shapes of her pieces. I love her ability to show her influences proudly within her work, but not so much so that the wearer couldn’t make their own speculations about the piece. I think it is important for jewellery to show the personality of the designer as well as being something of value only to the wearer.

Katherine Alexandra Brunacci

I love Brunacci’s use of colour and texture in her designs. The application of the lost wax carving technique allows her to create beautifully tactile pieces that relate greatly to her influences of the natural world. For example, the silver ring below takes inspiration from the form and textures of seaweed. Tactility in design is very important to me as I believe a textured piece of jewellery or silversmithing is much more visually engaging to a viewer or wearer. This is something I’d like to include in my own work for the final wax designs. Modelling Workshop

I really enjoyed the 2D and 3D modelling workshop despite it being a bit stressful to create the sculptures in such a short space of time. I’d like to incorporate some of my designs in the wax carving and chasing classes as I think some of the forms would work well, particularly the three I have chosen to photograph on the repeat pattern backgrounds. I have used lino cuts and carved stamps from potatoes to create the background repeat patterns for the photoshoot part of the class.

Form and Nature Research

I began this project by producing as wide a range of visual research as I could, including seed pods, shells, plant life and birds. I also tried to use a broad scope of drawing materials to pinpoint which ones work best with the subject matter I am going to focus on. I’ve decided to continue my visual research on the topics of poppy seed pods and agapanthus flowers. Their forms really intrigue me and have a lot of potential for jewellery designs or a piece of silversmithing. Following on from the work I’d done on poppy seed heads, I tried making some out of copper wire and coloured copper wire mesh. I’d like to develop these designs further and use them for the wax carving project.

Stylised Natural Forms

Art Nouveau

Art Nouveau was an incredibly influential movement from the late 1800s until the beginning of the First World War. It focused on the use of flowing organic lines, taking inspiration from natural forms. Art Nouveau designs are anything but plain and are stark contrasts to the art movements that follow it like Art Deco and Bauhaus with their embellishments and decorative finishes. Much of late 19th century and early 20th century architecture, graphic design, interior design and fashion was inspired by this movement and produced countless well known artists, designers and artworks themselves.

Left – Moulin Rouge, Henri De Toulouse Lautrec, Middle – The Casa Batllo, Antoni Gaudi, Right – Monaco Monte Carlo, Alphonse Mucha

Arts and Crafts

The Arts and Crafts movement was popular in mid 19th century Britain and was, first and foremost, a backlash against the new industrialisation of the UK. Art and Crafts focused on the use of traditional making skills, creating handmade pieces inspired, like Art Nouveau, by natural and organic forms. The movement championed handmade goods, in the form of wood carving, textiles, tiling and glassware. Arguably the most famous participant in the Arts and Crafts movement was William Morris. Morris’s textile and wallpaper designs are instantly recognisable and he too was a believer in the continued use of classic production techniques rather than yielding to the new method of mass produced goods. His use of traditional woodblock printing for this wallpaper designs is an example of this.

William Morris textile and wallpaper designs I am especially drawn to the work of William Morris, particularly due to his bold use of colour. His colour palettes perfectly compliment the stylised organic forms in his designs. The overall premise of the Arts and Crafts movement interests me also, because of the strong desire to use traditional making methods, I often find that I enjoy making more when I can really feel the materials I’m working with and I have that tangible relationship with the piece I’m creating. I love Morris’s use of pattern in that he has managed to pack as much vibrant decoration into his work as is possible without it being too busy or garish. Going forward, I’d like to try and incorporate Morris’s application of pattern into my chasing and repoussé panels and try to recreate the balance between detail and successful design that he achieves.