Taking the time to experiment

It's so easy to become subsumed in the day to day work of being a creator and forget to make time for the crazy stuff.

When Vaune suggested a few days at her Āpiti farm for some experimentations a few of us lucky ones who could take time out jumped at the chance!

What a joy it is to play for a change, no goals, just giving it a go. And yeah, it doesn't always work, but can you figure out why it didn’t work? And change that for next time?

Here is some stone cutting and shaping going on, and below Odette Anscombe-Smith's beautiful Lapis Lazuli and 14k yellow gold earrings she made at the farm.

Experiments in pouring Shibuichi (80% fine silver, 20% copper) into wooden blocks had mixed success. Casting bangles is always a tricky business. Keeping the metal hot enough to flow all the way around, pouring super fast and super accurately - it's intense!

We also had a crack at Lost Wax casting using the kiln and centerfuge. Below you can see some cast in place stones which didn't exactly stay where they were put, but at least they all survived the heat.

Sitting by the fire at the end of the day we were all pretty pleased with our efforts!

Now back to reality, how many emails have I got?!