Cuttlefish casting with Emily

Anna and I did a jewelry-making workshop with our friend Emily, proprietor of Sun and Dust gallery, and an amazing artist herself; she started offering classes this year as Acequia Jewelry Workshop and Anna has done several of them. I got to go with her to this one, as a planned visit from a friend didn't pan out and she already had made a reservation for two. Lucky me!

In this workshop, we got to try our hand at "cuttlefish casting". Cuttlefish have a very porous central "bone" that can be easily shaped. If you cut one of these bones in half, and make a shape in the middle, you can pour molten silver in to the resulting mold and get a one-time casting that incorporates the very unique layered texture of the cuttlefish bone.

Anna had an idea for an amulet, and I decided to try to make a chunky ring. They both came out pretty well for first-timers! Much fun was had.