Wax Carving and Silver Design

Crowded platform at Union Square — I dodged past Peruvian pan flute players and German tourists meandering past the kid on the Casio keyboard playing "Für Elise." I caught the L train to meet up with Dan at their place in Bushwick. They have an incredible live-and-work space where Caroline runs her jewelry gallery and studio, LILOVEVE.



Caroline Glemann designs beautiful bespoke jewelry — wedding & engagement bands, neck wear, pendants, rings. I always stop to admire her show pieces in the gallery cases when I'm over. While I was there I figured that I should repair the silver ring that I made in her Wax Carving class. I went down into her workshop to use her ring mandrel and leather mallet. As a metal, silver is not as hard as gold or platinum alloys, but its forgiving quality is what makes silver so easy to work.





Silver artist and jewelry designer Sakurako Shimizu, taught the class at LILOVEVE — she specializes in wax carving and the "lost wax" method. In this class we learned how to accurately draft our designs, carve a model, and bring our silver cast to completion.



After sketching our designs we drafted a plan on grid paper using precision instruments to determine ring size and metal thickness. With this type of planning you can compensate for the mold shrinkage.



It's recommended that you use pre-made wax forms to save time. We used heated carving tools, different grades of files and filing paper to create these models.



The resin carving wax comes in grades of hardness — blue wax is medium, but green is harder allowing you to carve sharper detail. The carving wax is also available blocks, wire, and square dowels. I bought most of my tools and supplies at Melalifforous. They were inexpensive but if you're not careful it can get spendy.



We had silicon molds made of our models. From this mold another type of wax cast is made that is again casted into a plaster mold. Molten silver is then poured into this second mold, extruding the second wax.



The mold is then broken open and discarded after the silver has cooled. With this type of method, multiple casts can be made. This sounds like a lot of work but we used a service in the jewelry district to do all of this. When you first get your poured silver the surface appears matte white. The goal in this class it to take it to a highly polished finish.



A small stem (the sprue) on the ring marks where silver was poured. It has to be removed and filed down along with any small imperfections. Sakurako helped me with mine, the sprue was on the inside and I couldn't completely file the shape down to match concave interior. Sakurako is a hands-on instructor, she demonstrated every part of the process in detail.





Careful work lies ahead. If you over-work you'll lose the detail and shape that you created in the wax carving stage. But if you don't file enough imperfections stand out.



After the initial polishing you can add a matte finish with a Scotch Bright pad, but even then you must be careful with the direction of the grain.



I used the wheel, a Dremel tool and diamond polish to get it to really shine.



After that I used a blackening agent to bring out the detail in my ring, but you can also add green, red, or blue patina to your work.



After a final buff and polish the pockmarks and holes are more prominent.



Caroline's studio is well furnished with all the equipment and tools you need. My friends Eva and James took the wax carving class to make their wedding bands, it was gift from Eva's mother. Carrie's sister Gabrielle and her husband Paul made their platinum bands as well.



My ring fits perfectly. I'm not at all a be-jeweled guy, but after many hours of filing, sanding, and polishing I do feel as if my ring is a part of me when I wear it.

Impressions of Maine

On our way back from dinner Stephanie and I nearly got nailed by fixed gear bikers running a light to avoid a cab. "Don't worry I see you!" he yelled as he nearly ran into the other biker. "No you don't." I said as he flicked me the bird while turning the corner riding against the traffic. Why does anyone need a fixed-gear bike in New York? A fine welcome back to Brooklyn it was.



We returned from a week-long get away in Biddeford Maine with Steph's friends Sonya and Jim — and of course their twins Otto and Marta, and the cats. Words alone can't fully describe the raw beauty of the New England coast and the warm hospitality of our hosts.



Beach combing with Marta at 7:30 in the morning...





she drew my portrait in the sand — Marta loves to draw and write.



I made her pet moose a rucksack to carry his little friend. I also made a scarf for Otto's lobster.



Green collars of lichen and moss elegantly dress the sea wall blocks that line the roads.



Intrepid explorers scamper over rocks to search for pink starfish in a tidal pool.



They briefly sat for a family portrait — in just a few hours these rocks will be reclaimed by the ocean.



Cat wrangling with Otto, June and Jolly (the cats) — we found a bleached skull in the sand.



Otto said it was from a small dinosaur, I said it was once a seagull.



But upon closer inspection I told him he was correct. Why not, what's the harm?



Otto likes my camera, he took my photo by the marine science research road sign.



I think Marta took this picture of me and Steph using our lobster phones.



Years ago Sonya's father, Costa transformed a humble fishing shack into a handsome summer cottage.



The beach house reappears each morning as fog lifts from Hills Beach — Basket Island and bird watchers try to find each other in the mist.



One can walk to Basket Island at low tide.



Carpets of mossy beach roses are everywhere offering rose-hip jewels to passersby.



After Jim's sumptuous grilled lamb dinner we searched for the rainbow's end on Fort Hill but it soon faded into Biddeford Pool.



On a clear evening we saw Jupiter through Sonya's telescope, but one can find these stars on the beach.



Have you ever seen anything so blue? Deep azure and royal purple skies call us home for Stephanie's chocolate bourbon cake and ice cream.



I took a little bit of Biddeford home with me — a few mementos from the beach. Most of all I left with an incredible impression that we'd move out there one day. It was difficult settling back into the New York scheme of things. At night I hear the traffic from Flatbush and pretend it's the ocean.

Barathyel Bolero: Fit for a Queen

A princess emerged from her Boerum Hill bower. Gabrielle had another dress to try on, but she also had a few more "just in case." More? I didn't ask how many she had, but she said they were returnable. The ivory dress worked well with her Barathyel Bolero. I took a few pre-wedding photos and re-touched them into scenes from LOTR.

Gabbie looks at home in Rivendell, doesn't she?



Wedding plans were still coming together when we met this past Tuesday night for her final fitting. But I think she's more than prepared — she even had back-up jewelry. Gabbie and Paul are lawyers, I wouldn't expect anything less. "Barathyel" is Grey Elvish for Queen. The inspiration for this wedding top came from Galdriel, Queen of Lorien ("Fellowship..."), whose long flowing sleeves capture dream-like movement...



even when just she's standing still scaring the hell out of Frodo. It's obvious Galadriel doesn't do windows, she must have a staff of helper Elves, or some wand of house cleaning.



Gabbie was ecstatic about how well everything came together. She especially loved the sleeves and mantle — they drape like lace curtains over her gown. The flowing bell sleeves are picked up from the cuff and weighted with crocheted silk asters.



The asymmetrical mantle and the sleeves use the same lace pattern, except the mantle is knit on the bias to give it a graceful drape when it's worn open. Her sister Caroline made a Roman pin to close the front — Caroline designs exquisite jewelry. I also made Carolines shrug for her wedding.

Here's Gabbie at the gate of Rivendell overseeing intrepid soujourners and the ring bearer, ciao Frodo.



The sleeves are knit as one piece, from right to left with a continuous fir-cone lace pattern flanked with eyelets. The yarn we chose is Linea Pura "Biosoja" (Buttercream). It's a blend of cotton, bamboo and soy which makes it very breathable and light. It's makes a subtle stridation of cream and ivory. I like the way the soft stripes intersect with the lace.

Even Elron can't take his eyes off her. Get a life buddy! You're about 1000 years way too old for her.



I always think it's funny how a woman will buy an expensive wedding gown but have her back to the guests throughout most of the ceremony. The arrangement of silk Cosmos at the back hem should entertain the guests. They lend an old-world appeal to this very modern bride. I told Gabbie that I can remove them after the wedding and make a keep sake for her.



Saturday July 18, 2009 — today is the big day for Gabrielle and Paul as they exchange vows in upstate New York. It's 72° today and the weather is perfect for a wedding. Good luck Gabbie and Paul, and congratulations!

Source: New Line Cinema, "Fellowship of the Ring"

Flowers on the Mantle

Much of our garden flora is derived from Greek lore and legend — Paeony, Adonis, Narcissus, Rose, Daphne, and Laurel are among them. But all these stories end in tragedy. I found two Greek flowers that have a more auspicious origin: Cosmos and Aster.

Cosmos are one of my favorite garden flowers — mostly known to mean "the universe" in Greek. But it's also the same word for beauty. I guess the ancient Greeks saw beauty in symmetry and order. As I pick loose bits of yarn off my feet I admit I could use some order in my apartment. I wonder if there's a flower called "Chaos." So the words "cosmos" and "cosmetic" actually have common etymologic roots — one word has a more profound heavenly meaning and the later more decorative.



I'm meeting Gabbie tonight for the final fitting of her wedding shrug (Barathyel Bolero). I crocheted some single and double cosmos from ivory silk that I bought from Habu Textiles years ago. It's washed, blocked, and pressed — the last thing to now is to decide where to place the flowers. These flowers are not just decoration, they have a weighty purpose.



This lace shrug is designed to be light and comfortable on a warm July day; the asymmetric construction emphasizes fluid movement. But it also needs ballast. I suggested placing large flowers on mantle's hem at the lowest point to keep it in place. Sounds easy no? Last night I spent about an hour or so pinning them into a composition. The arrangement should look natural, as if the flowers grew into place. But what does that mean when you're working with artificial flowers? A lot of arranging. They look more natural if some of them overlap in clusters.



To add more structure to this garment I used a crab stitch border and some scallops along the entire edge — otherwise the mantle tends to crawl upwards and inwards.



Finally, the bell sleeve cuffs also need some weight so I made four asters for each cuff. Aster is the Greek word for star. The phrase "ad astra" is a metaphor for infinity, it literally means "to the stars." In Greek mythology, flowers sprang from the tears of Asterea, who cried with compassion when she looked down from heaven and saw no stars on earth. This tale of tears makes absolutely no sense to me at all... is this a story about compassion or mania? But I believe cosmos and asters are auspicious symbols of matrimony.

Elvish Summer Casuals

Gabbie wants to wear her Baratheyl Bolero for more than one occasions this summer. I told her I'd strip it down into something more casual after the wedding — she might even have it dyed. I popped into Stitch Therapy to say hey to Maxcine and to ask Brandi for a favor — Brandi was gracious enough to be my fit model for Gabrielle's Barathyel Bolero. My favorite home girl's come home — she's back in Brooklyn while on school break from the Paris program.

The Fly-girl Test

Brandi slipped it on and moved her arms up and around to make sure the sleeves didn't crawl up. The bell sleeves needed more weight, the flap also needed more structure. I like Maxcine's Roman clasp, Brandi used it to close the top. It's funny how girls know what to do with a garment.

"Baby, don't you make anything for the big girls? That top is fly!" a shop patron said as she put down her baby sweater and gestured at her ample decollete. "I used to be Brandi's size but look at me now. You can't hide the pride!"

I have admit, I blushed. I just nodded my head in agreement, I felt anything I'd say might come off offensively.

The Shrug Test

The big girls dilemma — many knit patterns aren't made for the plus size gal, and they're usually displayed by someone who looks like they haven' eaten in days. Many full-bodied beauties knit and sew for themselves because they can't buy something in their size. You just can't take a Barbie-sized concept and simply make it bigger. How do we address America's growing needs?

Brandi shrugged her shoulders up and down and did a runway walk around the shop to make sure the back stayed in place. The mantle needed a few adjustments — the hem turned inwards and clung to her dress. Everything needs a few adjustments.

It's one thing to see a garment sit on a mannequin, but the real test is to see how it behaves and drapes on the body when in motion. I ended up re-knitting the entire mantle — oi gevault, twice.

It's almost ready for an evening out. I wonder if Gabbie will wear it on on their honeymoon. Brandi is my favorite model, the camera loves her and she knows how to move. As I packed everything up, the shop patron waved me down and mouthed "big girls" to me.

In Holey Matrimony

I designed an eyelet lace shrug for my friend Gabrielle, she and Paul are tying the knot on July 18. She's nervous, but at the last fitting she was elated to see her shrug come together. It fits on her as snug as a glove, but it's very comfortable. It's something old and something new, but I didn't want it to look too antique. Earlier we met and did some sketches and looked at yarn samples from Stitch Therapy and pattern books.





The design is inspired by Galadriel's dream sequence from "Fellowship of the Ring." I named both the eyelet pattern and the shrug "Barathyel" (Grey Elvish word for Queen). It's made with Linea Pura Biosoja — a light poly-blend of soy, cotton, and bamboo. It's perfect for a warm July wedding. The subtle strides of cream & ivory and the syncopated lace pattern make the garment appear as if it’s in constant motion — even when it's just resting on the mannequin.



The bell sleeves are very traditional, but the mantle drapes over the body on the bias in an asymmetric cut. It also makes the traditional bell sleeves look more LOTR and less Renaissance Fair.



The body wraps as one piece from the front and around the back. The top of the shrug (arms and shoulders) are also knit across as one piece. The bell sleeves are picked up and knit down. I'm still working on the back panel that join the top and the body.



A Mannequin?! You might be wondering how I ended up with a mannequin body. No, I didn't find it on the street. About two summers ago I stopped into Stacey Joy Elkin's shop Redlipstick. She had seen photos of the shrug I made for Caroline on my blog and read that I used a pillow and duct tape to make a form. She insisted that I need a mannequin body so she generously loaned me one.



But she didn't have a bag large enough to cover it so I walked home with it in it's raw state tucked under my arm through a small crowd of giggling school children and pointing parents. You have to admit, putting a Keyfood bag over the top half of a bare torso would have seemed even more creepy... I digress. But the mannequin helped me a lot. Better finish this up, final fitting with gown is on Tuesday.

Small Craft Warnings

The temperature dropped at sunset — 68° and gusty. On the way to Megan and Josh's farewell party Stephanie and I paused to look at some very odd looking clouds — a seagull got sucked upwards and into a formation of red skulls and demonic cotton balls. I took this picture in Brooklyn Heights. June has been unseasonably cold, stormy and wet. National unemployment average is up to 9.5% (and growing) and the New York real estate market is all a mess. One has to wonder if the weather is a prelude to even harsher times (aka, the 70s).