A lot of my process starts with a sketch and a material that speaks to me. In this case, I was inspired by my pet snake, Shai, a ball python`s shed skin. Snakes, much like us, shed their skin to attain a fresh start and allow for growth. There is something stunningly beautiful about the change and I had to capture it in wearable art.
First, I took my handy Green Lion saw frame and cut out the pieces to construct the boxes from a solid 22g Sterling Silver sheet. I even hand-cut the bezel, a tedious part of the process that in truth, annoys me. I filed all edges, sanded, evened out corners and cleaned up the metal, being sure to clean off any of my oils before taking fire to my work. With a butane hand torch, I started building up the walls, doing each wall seperately to ensure the solder flowed properly, cleaning up the work after each step in a pickle solution (recipe included).
Homemade Pickle Solution:
- 1 part white vinegar
- 1 part distilled water
- 1 tablespoon of salt per cup
When all of the boxes had been constructed, I attached the ring and ear posts to the pieces and gave a further clean, then moved on to polishing and cleaning up the edges further. I wanted a clean, industrial look with slightly raw edges to still feel like a human made these pieces. Part of the beauty of working with metal with your hands, in my opinion, is the subtle differences in-between.
I then scuffed up the insides of the boxes, for the smooth application of black india ink, in order to create contrast for when I poured resin in.
Taking some shed skin from Shai, i tore off pieces and ran them through a laminator to not only make the shed easier to cut, but to add a textural element that just doesn`t happen without. This is the same process for protecting butterfly and moth wings when you pour resin overtop them, to maintain the colors of the scales.
Measuring out the boxes, I then cut the laminated shed, dry fitting each and making small adjustments so that the fit would be perfect.
After everything was all set, I patiently dropped in UV resistant resin, making sure not to overfill the cups, lightly kissing the resin with a hand torch to pop any bubbles. The pieces were kept level with clamps and a kneaded eraser to ensure proper curing. I set the pieces in a safe place, away from dust overnight, and after 24 hours, they were complete!
The whole process, start to finish, took two days, but if you factor in the time and energy put into caring for Shai, then the work amount becomes blurry.
These pieces look great paired together, or separately, and are truly something I am stoked to have made. Till the next time, thank you for taking a glimpse into The Labs at Lost Adornments.
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