Cuttlefish Casting
As promised, at last weeks Open Studio I demonstrated the art of cuttlefish casting. One visitor came to both demonstrations and others travelled from as far as Seddon and Hawthorn, spurred on by my interview with Hilary Harper on her breakfast program 774 ABC Local Radio. Thanks Hilary!
Ronni who has provided some of the photos you see in the slide show said "I am in awe of your talent to use cuttlefish as a template for your craft. I am just amazed!!! I think it is quite beautiful." Thanks to you too Ronni!
Click on any image above for a large picture slide show that shows each stage of the casting process from carving the cuttlefish to pouring the molten silver. I'm dressed in a white duffel coat with leather gloves and a leather apron, the plastic head shield protects my face from the heat. By the end of the casting I could be heard saying "excuse me, I'm just going to strip off" and removed most of what you can see in the picture so I could quickly cool down.
The molten silver glistens brightly in the crucible as I move carefully not to spill any, though in my second cast there were a few droplets that tumbled into the pumice below. You can also see the crucible holder is glowing bright red from the heat. The pumice that holds the cuttlefish in place, has also been collected from beaches, on my many trips to the beautiful coastal regions of southern NSW.
I look forward to cleaning the casts and adding a step by step guide so that you can have a better understanding of the effort involved in making my beautiful works of art.