As a new/amateur silversmith I'd made the Olmec "Colossal Head" in poured silver as my fist cast out of my own personal pouring bench. Again an homage to the Native American and Mestizo culture that I grew up in.
That first head was a little under 7 ozt. A truth I've known since I was a teenager... once you get a little head, you just want more. So I went ahead and found this silicone ICE CUB TRAY. I used casting resin to make a positive from the silicone mold (thank you YouTube... aka free art school), then placed the new epoxy cast "positive" mold in my sand casting flask/mold.
You know the rest... heated up the silver and poured it in. Check this OUT!
BOOM!
Stunner, Right?
What great results, if I do say so myself.
It wasn't all rainbows and lollipops. I had a little bit of resin left so I poured it in another one of the silicone negatives (ice cube tray slots). It didn't fill up all the way, but got the front of the face, it was just kind of shallow.
I tried using this second epoxy mold for an open pour and it didn't come out so great... no biggie, back in the melt pile.
This is not the head in the melt pile
This is a learning process. No matter your level of mastery you should never quit growing. I'd never used casting resin before. The instructions said to use a lighter after 5 minutes to pop any bubbles that form. Getting the bubbles out is where a vacuum chamber comes in really handy, but I don't have one of those. I got my little butane torch and the bubbles just melted away, pretty cool.
But the next day there was one more big bubble in my cured positive epoxy mold. I just sanded it off, but there was a pit left there which ended up getting transferred over into the final silver product.
See the pit?
Another think I've learned (I should have listened more closely in YT Art School... Sand is porous. It doesn't really need too many vents cut in. Clay does.... I bought some clay but haven't used it. Anywhoo.... I cut a tiny vent in the top of the mold (bottom of the head) and it CREATED a filling defect. The silver need PRESSURE to fill the voids in the mold. Vents prevent that pressure from building up.
Thus... on he has a dimple on right (his right) side of his neck.
Next into the Liver of Sulfur (probably for not long enough... he came out with some rose tones). Buffed with a pad, and waxed. He now stands proudly next to my Olmec head on the SBS Poured display shelf in my office.
CONTEST WINNER ANNOUNCEMENT
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Amazing work! Congrats!!!
Sorry for the weak upvotes... Power got too low. I'm gonna buy some more STEEM if it approaches 50 cents
You are a very talented pourer. May we see the display shelf in your office?
Check out my most recent YouTube video... The shelf is on the video.
You are really a talented Artist. Every piece of yours that you show us, my admiration for you increases. Congrats.
Thanks very much my friend.
Awesome. I love the unique silver figures. Very well done. Going to check out your other posts.
very great art i love it
hiya, i love that head! it's brilliant and you have really got me thinking i would love to have a go at silver work as of this moment i have no where to do such a thing, this is a little house and its full to the brim with the teenagers and me :) soon however i will move to a better house and i am already planning having an art room now it is going to be a silver art room :) thank you for sharing this post and giving me inspiration :) hope you have a fab day, respect
Awesome, yeah I wish you the best with your future silversmithing.
Impressive job
Love these. You are super talented.
Thanks, nice of you to say. Iv'e always been kind of... a mediocre artist. But make mediocre art out of Fine Silver and suddenly you're a rockstar, lol.
most awesome I want to do something like that for my fish tank
Great hiding place for silver... in the fish tank. I wonder if the antibiotic properties of silver will prevent ick...
I'm not sure I know coin silver is not good I want to do a little more research before I do put anything in
I think that's because of the copper ;-)
You really are knocking it out of the park my friend. Awesome job👍
Great subject matter... and pretty simple. Love it cuz it's not too detailed but still... iconic. Preeshiate you brother!
Fantastic! I bet it was a rush to pop that out of the mold. Nice work man.
Always love to see what comes out. And when it doesn't come out... try to figure what went wrong. Good stuff! I need more melt :P
Wow man! I’m really impressed!!!
And truth be told: a little extra head never hurt anyone a’tall 😁👍
My day is made. I impressed @thedamus... 👍🏼🦍😎
When you start pouring the Moai 20 feet high we’ll know we’re in trouble 🤘😎
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Hello! I loved this work of the moi head, and for me that I do not know anything about casting but I have always had the concern to learn. I loved that you gave us your procedures. It was educational thank you very much. Actually I would love to have a piece of those ... and well, seeing your other published works, I congratulate you, you have very good things that I particularly liked very much.