Glaciale - Alexis Kostuk, Goldsmith

Dog Charm

2011-12-13T12:14:00.000-08:00

Woof! woof!!

Meet Picasso, one of my recent custom orders.
I have been finishing some last minute holiday commissions before I leave the city for some family time in the country. I was excited to work on a piece that will be dangling from the charm bracelet that also holds the gargoyle charm I made a while ago. I took a shot of the wax before I casted the charm in 18 karat yellow gold. I ended up using two different types of wax - the blue wax I could carve into using wax burs on my flex shaft as well as dental tools that I use for carving and then the pink wax on the ears. The pink were tiny wax sheet pieces that I folded and then bonded to the blue wax by melting it in place. The dog became more and more delicate to carve as he got smaller and I ended up having to give him surgery a few times when almost all his legs fell off, but I think he definitely ended up being well worth the effort. I am especially proud of the texture I gave his shiny gold fur.

Pin Swap

2011-11-09T13:55:00.000-08:00

Bunch 'o brooches

Scrap transformed into "Platinum" brooch

Yay! Self promotion.

Tonight is the Annual General Meeting for the Metal Arts Guild. As an icebreaker they encourage members to create pins that they can swap with others. Yesterday, knowing that I am dying to trade with other creative folk I decided to whip up some enamel brooches. Instead of creating perfect forms I searched through my copper scrap bin for pieces with an interesting shape that I wouldn't have to alter. I have quite a few pieces from my hydraulic press dyes that didn't work out. Sometimes the copper sheet was too close to the edge and collapsed into my dye when I was adding pressure, so I gave six of them an enamel makeover. I sawed out some forms to hold the pin back in place, but other then that and the enamel I didn't change my scrap pieces all that much. I decided to add on a painted layer of enamel that I labelled each with a different metal. Just before firing them in the kiln for the last time I added my blog address and name, just so each recipient knows who it is from. Hopefully some of the new owners will be reading this shortly after meeting me and exchanging for one of their creations!

More Painted Enamel

2011-09-09T17:28:00.000-07:00

Today I was able to keep a better watch over my painted enamel pieces when they were in the kiln with UV googles that aren't as dark as mine. So, each of them turned out wonderfully. Each of these was done on a coloured layered instead of the a white background, like the ones in yesterday's post. Now comes the tricky part - fabricating something to set these babies into. I am unsure of what to make them into - pendant? ring? brooch? Help me decide!

I have been going into each little guy without really thinking about what I want to paint beforehand. I think if I end up painting more I will continue with my tattoo theme and throw in some medieval inspiration as well as looking back to some poetry that I love. And lots more skulls of course. Suggestions for ideas are welcome!

This is all eventually leading to some grander scale pieces that I have in mind. I definitely wanted to get the knack of using my acrylic enamels before jumping in too deep & so far, so good.

Painting with Enamel

2011-09-08T13:33:00.000-07:00

Lately I have been extremely creatively scattered. I have been burning myself out by making things at home - stenciling some handmade pillows, cutting linoleum prints, and doing some painting. Also, attempting to organize things to avoid working. I spent way too many hours online scouring for a new duvet cover. Go ahead and judge me. However, since I painted my bedroom I have been in need of something that matches the new colour (insert rampant consumer jab here). In between my online journeying i whipped up some enamel paintings. I should also let everyone in on the fact that I was watching Battlestar Galactica while doing so. The skull was a connection to my ongoing obsession with the Dias de los Muertos. I have been contemplating getting more tattoos lately, hence the tattoo designs. I'm sure my mom appreciates them being painted on jewellery rather than on me. My years of drawing henna tattoos have been put to use once again! The one thing I found out about enamel that I hadn't known before is that red and white enamel repel... if you are lucky you can catch it before it happens (which is why you are seeing this batch of pieces and not the last ones I made - now lost to the light of day and never to be seen again). Enamel is not always predictable and or reliable. I left the bird piece in the kiln a tad too long, and it developed a speckly quality that I had not initially intended.

I think I made the frame and components a bit more complicated than they need to be, I will be messing around with an alternative. I painted each little vignette on white enamel, so my next batch of them are on coloured backgrounds. Hopefully those work out and are worthy of a post.

Lotus Ring

2011-07-25T12:32:00.000-07:00

Check out the new Wedding Band I finished recently! It's a joy carving anything organic and I was excited to create this design because I like that it will it will sit flush against her engagement ring, blooming on top.

I casted this ring in 14 karat gold and then added a sandblasted finish (leaving the inside high polish, so it feels nice and smooth against the skin).

HD Ring for Jeff

2011-06-17T15:43:00.000-07:00

Here's where it starts, with a rough piece of wax.

I drew the shape on and sawed off the excess.

Using various files and wax burs I shaped the flame.

I smoothed it out and hollowed the back out to reduce the weight.

I added the band using my wax pen to melt the pieces together.

I decided to use the green wax for the band because it holds sharper detail.

Lots of Process shots today! The first thing off the top of my head since I just finished editing the photos this very moment - right after I finished making the ring itself. I completely guessed the size so hopefully this will end up fitting my brother on his birthday tomorrow. As you can see from the photos, I started out making the fireball as a separate piece before eventually adding it to a ring shank that I created. I was going to keep the fireball fairly simplistic, however after starting to carve it out I added a few more flares, for a more layered look. Once I attached the the ring I had to redraw the logo on three or four times until I liked the placement of it. After I casted it and polished it up a bit I decided to add a patina to it to make it look a bit more bad-ass, somehow it didn't look as good at a simple high polish. All in all, I'm glad I challenged myself with the logo on the band. I could probably spend several more hours perfecting it, but I am pleased with how it turned out. I hope my brother likes his new ring!

Feathers

2011-06-03T09:30:00.001-07:00

I have been continuing my explorations with enameling. I started off with some cloisonné characters, but their images are going to be kept under wraps until I have them all fleshed out (several months from now, no doubt). I have also been experimenting with some simple sgraffito - a technique in which you scrap away enamel you have sifted onto the surface. The feathers were pierced from copper sheeting then I have layered two colours on top of each other. After firing the base layer I sifted the second colour and using a toothpick I scraped away to reveal the base colour and add more dimension to the feathers. I made these in mind with the Pay-it-forward volunteers from a facebook wall post a while back. To give all those who are not in the know a run-down on how this works: I spotted the declaration on a friend's wall for all willing participants to repost so that the first five people who commented could receive something that you have handmade. I contemplated going off into left field and creating something non-jewellery related, however as you can plainly see that did not happen.

Collana numero cinque is in the works currently...

So for any of the participants who are going to be receiving something in the mail from me... after numbering each piece I drew names randomly to select who was getting which feather. I hope everyone loves their new necklace!

A rabbit, a squirrel and a bird, oh my!

2011-05-20T09:33:00.000-07:00

You may have noticed a trend in my posts. I absolutely love making gifts for people. Personalizing jewellery for my near and dears gives me that warm fuzzy feeling. It truly is better to give than receive. I love when my mind whirs into action thinking about a person and what they love in life and making something that reflects their personality and will hopefully bring a little joy into their life.

When I thought of this idea for a friend I went into idea overdrive and wanted to tack on as many components and do-dads as possible. How could one not love a piece that can be displayed, has interchangeable components and of course is all made by hand (a crazy person, that's who).

So, ladies and gents gaze upon this here object with envy because it is a one-of-a-kind creation for one special person!

I fabricated the pendant from copper that I then used different coloured flocking to jazz it up. I actually constructed it so that you can insert different background pictures into the square frame. I carved each of the animals from wax and then casted them using Ancient Bronze casting grain. A grain that I have recently acquired and absolutely love. The animals, base, and pendant each have Rare Earth Magnets to hold them into place when being worn or on display.

I simply painted the based and glued on some string and yarn - I finally found a use for my rainbow yarn that I love so much but never use.

Then I got stumped as to what kind and what length of a chain the piece needed, so after Gillian received it she added some of her heart chain, and BAM! it's that much more awesome.

A very Happy Birthday to Gillian!

Enamel 101

2011-05-10T12:31:00.001-07:00

I have been out of commission for much too long, contemplating about what I would like to blog about as opposed to actually just getting down to it. The idea about doing a weekly or monthly feature on artists that inspire me has been rolling around in my mind. I would like to give it a scheduled update promise, but I will just put it on the things to do list for this blog. Especially since I have been slacking off on uploading photos of work. I have been taking photos, it's just the uploading part that I lag behind on.

Alright! enough boring you, let us get to some pictures. Lately because of a severe lack of motivation for my usual work I have been dabbling with enameling. After doing a colour test of all the colours in the studio i fiddled around with some stenciling and some cloisonne. Note to self: when doing cloisonne, fill and do one colour at a time - I think I lucked out with this first firing in the kiln, although the foot needs another layer of colour. The back of each piece was enameled with counter-enamel - an amalgamation of all the scrap enamel mixed together. Pretty fun stuff to do, I would like to try my hand at some enamel paintings, and some wirework pieces eventually.

Cutlery

2011-03-07T08:48:00.001-08:00

I feel like since I created a ring for one of my brothers as a birthday gift, that this is the year that I make something for everyone in in my family. (We'll see about that...) I knew that my sister wanted some "threader" earrings (posts attached to a tiny chain that you pull through your piercing) and since we're both a couple of foodies I wanted to make her a set of cutlery to wear on her ears. These were so much fun to make! I realize I say that about everything I make, but I really do mean it. These were a joy because I turned such a small amount of material into something. They measure around 1.5cm. Using two tiny scraps of copper and sterling silver I butt soldered the two materials together and then filed them into their shapes. I added a bit of patina to them to give them an aged and used look. Hope my sister enjoys them.

Gargoyle

2011-02-08T10:59:00.000-08:00

I just finished polishing off my little gargoyle friend. He is the jewellery charm replication of a sculpture that a customer brought in. Now he is a wonderful custom gift that is going to be added to a charm bracelet for a lucky lady this Valentine's. It was such a challenge working in such detail on a small scale, but I am happy about the results. When I was nearing the finish of carving the wax I accidentally poked a hole through him, so I had to melt some wax on top to fix his eye for him (which you can see from the black blob on the blue wax). Now all there is left to do is attach him to the bracelet. What an exciting piece to carve, I always love a challenge.

Ankh and Fleur de Lis Part 2

2011-01-28T11:23:00.000-08:00

I just finished polishing off another custom band that is the design opposite of the ring I made back in November. This ring was made in part with a new flex shaft tool that I am in love with. I do have all sorts of diamond burs and basic wax burs, but nothing that is really small (less than 2mm wide). My new loves are cylinder square cross cut burs. With a bit of practice and a light touch I fell hard for them. Sigh. The pics are what the ring looked like in wax after I carved it and then the final ring that is cast in 18kt Palladium White Gold. Next week I will update with another custom made piece.

Look Mom, Mokume

2011-01-20T07:10:00.000-08:00

Every once in a while since Gillian Batcher has taught me how to make mokume gane I get the urge to try my hand at it. When I realized that my brother's birthday was coming up I knew I should take a chance at it again. I realized that he had never seen any mokume that I had made, so that was double plus bonus as well. I went with one of my favourite metal combinations, sterling silver and nickel silver. Somehow I lucked out and made the exact amount that I needed after creating the pattern on the surface. All I had to do was solder the ends together (eek!) and then clean up the edges and voila! I then searched through some of my scrap bins and discovered a piece of sterling silver and copper mokume that I had made a while ago and decided to throw that together to make a ring. It is a huge sense of accomplishment to see an older piece and the new one to realize that I have become better at developing a great random pattern.

Tim Burton is cool.

2010-12-17T14:07:00.000-08:00

I honestly could not contain myself when they finally unveiled the creature behind the window to the TIFF Tim Burton exhibit a few weeks ago. It's one heap of Little Shop of Horrors with equal parts awesome. I get to walk by it daily and it never fails to bring a smile to my face. I jumped on the Burton bandwagon last Saturday and went to a double feature, watching Big Fish (one of my personal faves) and a movie that inspired Tim Burton - The Ghost and Mrs. Muir. It was a day of crying and laughing and particularly enjoying a film that I never would have seen otherwise.

I can't deny that I am a sucker for Tim Burton's aesthetic. Anything with a touch of darkness and has anything to do with "outsiders" has me hook, line and sinker. His work was forefront in my mind when I was playing around with some copper pieces and I suddenly realized I could be making awesomely inspired Tim Burton brooches. So, I present these as my homage.

high gear

2010-12-16T08:14:00.000-08:00

Lately I have been kicked in creative high gear. Sometimes this happens, but thankfully not so often because it can get exhausting. Fortunately the fruits of my labour have been plentiful. I have no idea why I am blogging like this. It could quite possibly be that i need coffee. Or maybe some more juice.

Anyways, these gems came about in the last couple weeks and I just finished adding the pinbacks (which I then photo edited out so that they look nicer in the pictures). The wise thing would have been to take the photo before adding pinbacks, but then again I would not have been able to hang them to get the chain to dangle without them... okay scrap that previous thought. All the motifs are inspired by wrought iron work and I have been super obsessed with the hydraulic press lately. I mean come on - turning a flat sheet of metal into a raised form, it's wicked. No hammering involved, you just crank a lever and pressure + rubber = awesome. These guys are made out of copper, which I used a patina on to darken 'em up, various pearls and gem beads, sterling silver ball chain, resin, and flocking.

Next post will be soon. and by soon i mean tomorrow. And more work to post. Very fun work. Okay, I am going to stop with the sentence fragments and get me some coffee.

Bond

2010-12-09T14:39:00.000-08:00

Last week I went to the Opening on the "Bond" exhibition at Zilberschmuck Gallery in Toronto. I was happy that my work was accepted to be a part of the show. A while back I mentioned that it was the piece that I was going to get professionally photographed, so I finally decided to include it on my blog. I have also used the photo in my recent application to Metalsmith's call for entry for an exhibition in print. Fingers crossed that it will be included!
I also went along with Rosalyn Woo to celebrate her winning an honourable mention for her piece "leash and collar." Check out her etsy page to see more of her work.

Celebrate goods time, come on

2010-12-06T14:10:00.000-08:00

This week is pretty exciting. Right now one of my studio mates is behind me cleaning (which I should also be doing) but after polishing my jewellery and cleaning display cases I wanted to do something else. So I decided to blog about the upcoming Party my studio is having as well as an upcoming Holiday Sale.

Check out the above links for more info and join me for some wine on Wednesday and hot chocolate on Friday, cuz I'll be attending both! The Santa add is for the Pop-up Holiday sale in Kensington that I have some work at, there is a Opening for that this coming Friday (yay, hot chocolate!)

I should have posted a while back that I made these small pieces of art to sell at the Pop-up shop in Kensington. They are small paintings with a small copper frame I cut out and added a patina and thread to liven it up. Not to mention the velvet ribbon. How I love velvet ribbon.

Butterfly Earrings

2010-11-26T08:53:00.000-08:00

A few posts ago I included some sketches of some butterfly pins that I made as Bachelorette party gifts along with my post of the feather pin that I had made myself. After a request I made more. I did however decide they would be lovely as earrings. My favourite part is piercing the inside of all the different wing patterns out, it's like drawing with a mini saw, tons of fun. I didn't break nearly as many saw blades this time around... That could have something to do with the metal thickness - I suspect that I rolled my metal out thinner. Hope you enjoy, and keep in mind that if you need a special gift for someone these could be just the thing.

Meat

2010-11-25T10:46:00.000-08:00

The amount my family consumes within threes days. Seriously. And it's not any kielbasa either, it's made by family.

Holiday Season is coming so fast

2010-11-19T14:59:00.000-08:00

With the holiday season approaching it means several things to me. One of the most important of which is pierogies. Lots and lots of pierogies.

2010-11-09T08:40:00.000-08:00

Monday was really exciting for me, I had a pick-up for a custom engagement ring that I finished making. It was such a pleasure working together with the customer. She wanted me to combine a Fleur-de-Lis and Ankh symbols to indicate both her and her partner's heritage. After I drew some designs she decided which one she liked and I carved the ring out of wax (the green ring). Once that was done I casted the ring in 18kt Palladium White Gold and then it was a matter of emerying and polishing it up before it was ready. I absolutely love when i get to run with an idea and create something that is special and unique for someone, carving is so much fun.

2010-11-01T15:16:00.000-07:00

I worked on some custom butterfly pins a while back (where are the pictures you may be wondering? guess what - I took some on someone else's camera and don't have them so all you get to see are my sketches). They were a lot of fun to make - tons of piercing and sawing, plus an interesting design since I only did one side of the wings as a pin that would flap about while wearing it. In my sketches I also proposed a feather which got turned down. However I loved the feather idea enough to make one for myself. The feather is made with nickel silver with the rachis (or stem of the feather) made with sterling silver. I have yet to add the chain and pin stopper, but that part is easy to imagine added on. I'm going to be wearing it on my coat this winter.

Bond

2010-10-30T13:49:00.000-07:00

Things are getting a bit busier for me lately preholiday season. I am meeting up with a professional photographer next week to get a new necklace photographed as part of my submission for Zilberschmuck's sixth annual national juried jewellery arts exhibition entitled "Bond" I included a cropped image of the piece placed on top of my artist submission paper. Proof positive that I need a professional to be taking photos for me. I recently took up working on a few piece I left on the wayside - smaller pieces for earrings that are similar to some large pendant/necklace pieces that I made a while ago. I'm thinking of adding a gemstones on each and still contemplating what type of chain I would like to use for them. Should be finished them in the next week along with an engagement ring and a brooch that I have been working on as well.

Come see "RED"

2010-09-27T19:23:00.000-07:00

I'm back in action after participating in QWAC. You'll have to excuse my lack of pictures from the show - my camera battery is apparently unchargeable and my cat broke my sister's camera the night before it started. This past weekend I was giving demos in the studio as part of Culture Days and finishing off all of my pieces for Jewel Envy studio's first collective group show "Red." I ended up with 5 pieces for the show that I am really proud of. I used a couple of new techniques in my work - including Mokume Gane and creating dies to use in a hydraulic press. As well as perfecting my techniques when using a patina - a process that has frustrated me in the past. If you want to see the finished pieces you'll have to make a cameo at one of our upcoming openings, or make a stop at one of the venues while it is up and running. This weekend I am participating in the Art of Fashion which is running as part of Nuit Blanche and today I just started working on my piece to apply to Zilberschmuck's exhibition "Bond." Pictured in this post are some interpretations of "Red" (excuse my made-up titles) Chia-Chien Tsai's Fairytale Apple, Gillian Batcher's Pumping Heart Necklace, and Emily Gill's Pearl Necklace. To see the rest you will have to check out the show, or wait forever for me to post more pictures.

Necklace Version 2.0

2010-09-16T14:22:00.000-07:00

Recently I had almost finished fabricating this necklace. Then a studio mate (who shall remain anonymous) pointed out a better way to construct it. I think it was revenge for all the times I have told her that she should remake some of her work.

Since I had to back-peddle a step and remove resin from Version 1.0 of the necklace I left the piece to soak overnight in acetone. Then after cleaning it up a bit I wanted to let it soak for a few minutes longer in some clean acetone. The only problem was that I didn't have an extra glass container handy. I know not to put pure acetone in a plastic container, but I thought since I was only going to leave it for a few minutes things would be fine. I was wrong. Thank goodness I at least had the sense to place a metal lid beneath the container so that the acetone didn't leak all over my workbench. Once this beauty is complete I am planning on getting professional photographs of it. That's right. I have finally relinquished my do-it-myself attitude and I am going to let someone else do work for me.

2010-09-15T07:46:00.000-07:00

Found some interesting images that I would like to share. I came across the website for a collective of Dutch conceptual design company called droog. My favourites include "Do Frame Tape" by Martí Guixé and Brooch #8 Diner-dansant by Iris Niewenburg. I have noticed Ralph Bakker's work in publications and recently stumbled onto his website. I had a hard time choosing just one image, so be sure to check his site out. Ledo Otto's Designs are really beautiful - they depict simplified architectural layouts of buildings. I especially like the "San Vitale" of Ravena. I also LOVE, Love, love Marianne Anderson's work, Mostly because I have a very similar aesthetic.
Please check out all my links to other various artists, I hope you enjoy all the photos.

Visit me at QWAC

2010-09-14T12:13:00.000-07:00

More Earrings!
I hardly ever make stud earrings, but when a few new ideas came to mind I couldn't resist creating them. In the first photo you can see the pieces after I have fabricated them. I used copper and sterling silver as the base and post and then I used a patina on the surface of the copper. You can also see the holes that I drilled to place the strands of beads and ball chain. I finished them all today (as of five minutes ago). I might be making cufflinks before the QWAC, but seeing as that is only four days away that might not happen.
Tonight I start teaching at George Brown College which I am really exciting about. I will be teaching a Jewellery Design class - the students will be learning how to create workshop drawings. I haven't gotten nervous yet, that will only happen the exact moment I open my mouth to start teaching. Well then, I hope to see you all at the Queen West Art Crawl this weekend. Be sure to come and visit me!

Time for more shot glasses...

2010-09-10T09:53:00.000-07:00

Whenever I have an upcoming Art and Craft show I always go into overdrive thinking about what I want make - ideas flood into my head and I can't help but overwork myself leading up to the show. This is the case leading up to QWAC. I finished off the rings in my last post and moved onto creating some new earring designs. I decided since I wanted to create quite a few pieces that I had never made before I would first make them in copper. You can see in the first photo the wonky ring shapes that I soldered from strips of sheet copper. Many steps later... is the almost finished product (all they need are my handmade earwires attached). Complete with a patina to give a Grey-black colour to the copper and some Resin. At the last moment while pouring the resin I thought to myself "I like polka dots." That's right folks, that is one of many deep thoughts I am thinking while I am busy creating. Since I have been working a lot with Resin I am left with a bunch of containers that are filled with layers of leftovers. I am quite fond of using small plastic shot glasses that I purchased at the Dollar store, I only have a couple that are unused left so I have to remember to pick some more up. I haven't yet decided what I would like to make with my layered resin cups, but there are a few ideas in the back of my mind. Feel free to comment on what you think I should make with them. I hope to make at least one more post before QWAC and then afterwards some fun pics from the show.

Behold the Rings

2010-09-05T10:13:00.000-07:00

I am following up on my promise to post the finished rings. I just had to post them pictured on my hand... you might notice a few scratches. I have been trying to pass them off as the mark of my profession. In other words being a bad-ass goldsmith means you don't have nice enough looking hands to be wearing your creations. I wish I could claim them as such, but they are just the evidence of the fact that I have a cat. Enjoy the finished pieces!

Bouncing around

2010-09-03T18:12:00.000-07:00

Lately I have been bouncing around projects. In anticipation of my fourth year participating in the Queen West Art Crawl and my studio group show I have been working on several pieces at once. The shield piece in my last post is one of five pieces that I plan on making for the show and I have been giddy over some new resin pieces that I have been experimenting with. Lately I have been attempting to take some process shots of my work. However since I am more on top of actually creating the pieces I don't always check the pictures I've taken before moving in between steps. I have ended up with blurry unusable shots that I can't retake (Oops). I have been having fun adding coloured ball chain and tiny pearl loops off the sides of my new resin pieces (that are similar to the piece in my heading). you can take a look at a couple process shots of a few rings that I have made. After I pour the resin I always place my little sign over the top to make sure that no dust or debris gets into the resin and more importantly that no one touches my work while it is still drying. I have to admit though (and everyone in my shared studio already knows this) I use the sign because I would be the first person to touch anything anyone else leaves out. And it's always good for a laugh.
I will be updating with more resin pieces, they have been a lot of fun to make!

Seeing Red

2010-08-12T15:04:00.000-07:00

I was just about to make this post and wanted to create a link to another blog I did a while back on the Jewel Envy site and noticed the date on that post. Jewel Envy, the studio that I work from is planning a group show centered around the theme "Red." Plans and the creation of the pieces have been going on for months and by backtracking I realized that I came up with the idea for my pieces four months ago. Since then I have been over producing smaller pieces of work along my theme, but not finishing the "show pieces" - the ones that will definitely be a part of the show, but still are lying in various pieces in my tool cabinet. I finally did finish one last Friday since it was a deadline for pictures for the upcoming show. A large part of my slacking off had little to do with procrastination and a whole lot to do with my worrying about the outcome of the pieces. This is my problem: sometimes when I am about to finish a piece and I am doubtful that I will able to fully translate what I originally had in my mind when I first came up with the idea I let it fall by the wayside instead of completing it. The outcome relied heavily on the way in which I riveted the pieces together since I was combining metal with leather and I have not always been happy with the way I have riveted in the past. Thank goodness for the deadline last Friday because I was able to get down to work, stop worrying and do some bad-ass awesome riveting. I present you with my first completed "Red" piece.

Zombie Head

2010-08-05T19:21:00.000-07:00

I am really excited for this - my first solo blog post - because I recently finished an exciting custom piece for a customer that is anything but ordinary. When Lauren stumbled across the studio website for Jewel Envy and requested a zombie head as a gift for her boyfriend I jumped at the chance to work on it. At first I considered carving it out of wax, but after thinking on it I decided that I could do a better job of it by first making it using Sculpy. Trading a subtractive method of making it for an additive method of creating the piece - an easier process when you are trying to make a zombie head. After finishing it off I then made a mold of it so that I could inject the mold with wax and use the lost wax process to cast the piece myself. I was excited after quenching it and pulling it out of the flask that it worked. I am always nervous about a casting not working properly, mostly unfounded nerves but I can't help myself. It was fun polishing it off and adding a patina to the surface to give it a darker look and bring out his features. I am pleased with the results and after sending the piece off to the customer and getting such a rave review of the finished piece I was even happier. I feel so fortunate to have gotten the chance to make such a unique custom pendant, it's not something I get the chance to make every week!