A few months ago, I wrote a blog/newsletter titled "The Fun of Casting." All of my simple casting is featured in the Waterlily Collection on my website.
Recently, I decided to expound a bit on my favorite technique, water casting, which inspired the photo and title above.
My intention in forming Waterlily pieces is to come up with organic bowl shapes that can be turned into a lovely natural pendant which will house an inserted pearl.
As I wrote previously, sterling silver (with a little borax added to help clean it) is melted with a torch in a ceramic crucible and heated to a molten lava stage. It is then quickly thrown into a bucket of water to cool and hopefully, if I have done it correctly, cups or basins are formed.
I have found after working in water casting with sterling silver it takes a lot of experimentation to get the right size and shape. There is a real “Goldilocks” effect when it comes to creating my pieces. The weight of the silver is critical. You cannot use too much, or you will end up with more of a blob. If you use too little the pieces will be very small. So over time I have come up with a weight that I feel is just right to create a bowl or cup – a container in which to nestle a perfect pearl.
It has been asked of me if the water temperature makes any difference. I have tried experimenting with both hot and ice water but the fact that molten silver is over 1700 degrees, it dominates the temperature of the water.
The height at which I hold the crucible with the melted silver over the water is critical. I need to keep the torch on the crucible and very quickly pour with a flick of my wrist. If I hold it too high, the silver starts to cool before it hits the water, resulting in elongated or small pieces. Instead, I try and hold the spout about four inches above the water. This helps me achieve the desired bowl effect
Once the silver has cooled, I check and see if I have created a usable piece. If nothing appeals to me, I will start over, reusing the silver. If I love what I have done I will place it in a ceramic crock of “pickle”, a mild acid solution that I use to remove any oxidation from the melting process.
Finally, it will undergo the finishing stage where it is polished, prepared to accept the pearl and transformed into a beautiful organic pendant.
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