Friday, January 30, 2009

another failure

Well, only one of the mezuzah's survived. The rectangle one with the crackle finish is not a keeper. I was not crazy about how the crackle texture turned out. The piece was way too busy, and the construction, with the slanted roofs, was not sturdy enough and did not survive the brushing and hammering. It is my fault for not making sure the joints were strong during the building process. I have to admit that my heart was not in this piece. I don't think I loved the texture from the start and therefore did not take the care and patience required to finish this piece. I just wanted to make a diffferent version of the mezuzah. It shows in the finished project which I will not post, but instead send to the refinery to reclaim the silver.
The rounded wavey texture mezuzah came out perfect. It is a beauty. I will post it when I am done polishing.

Thursday, January 29, 2009

right out of the oven


Here are two more mezuzahs I am working on. This is how they look when they come out of the kiln. They are a white silver color and are a bit misshaped. Next step is brushing and work hardening the silver. Then I will oxidize, polish, and tumble them. Stay turned to see how they come out.

Wednesday, January 21, 2009

another mezuzah


This one has square "windows". I think it kind of looks like a stone tower.

making thank yous



Abigail, Tamara and I are working on Abby's Bat Mitzvah thank you notes. Everyone is different. We are stamping, pasteing, drawing and even using sealing wax. We have a lot to make, but it's a lot of fun!

Sunday, January 11, 2009

how it should look


I just made this mezzuzah in silver. Now this is how it's suppose to look!

didn't work


Bronze clay is a bust again. I think the whole firing process makes it unstable. I'm taking a break.