Dear Orchid members - I feel almost guilty asking for your help
because I know so little about what I am asking. The work I
produce is fabricated and often enameled. - I have cast only one
piece once in a class - but I have agreed to create a brooch
for a life-long friend who wants it for a gift for a very
special occasion in January - if I didn’t help her she couldn’t
afford to get it done. She wants a brooch about 1 1/2 by 2
inches - the figure of a bear (California bear) on all 4’s -
designed using a large (about 12mm) faux pearl - She wants it to
be gold plated rather than actually cast in gold. I am doing
the renderings now.
My questions are these:
-
Once I get the renderings approved and the wax carved (I will
commision the wax to be carved) where and how do I get a rubber
mold made. I know there are wax carvers and casters, but are
there also mold makers? That is, people who specialize in
making the rubber molds? -
Do they also do the wax injections so that I have the two or
three copies of the wax that I will need? If they don’t do
that, where can I get this done? -
Should the piece be case in sterling? pewter? brass?
-
When I send it to be plated (I believe I want 18k) - do I
ask for a particular depth of thickness of plating? -
Do you know where I can find nice half-drilled faux pearls
in large mm sizes? I thought it might be difficult to find if I
only want to order 2-3. Might I have to drill the pearl myself? -
What glues do you use to glue the pearl to the post?
-
Can you recommend mold makers, casters, providers of pearls
in San Diego, Southern California, or California? I was hoping
to keep the work close to home so I can share the progress with
her (I’m hoping to get through this and still have this friend) -
Finally, can all this be done before mid-January? I would
appreciate any help you can offer.
Sheridan Reed in San Diego where it has been unusually cold.