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The Answer to Life, the Universe and Everything
In a recent custom project, I had my first exposure to casting resin. Metalledwith’s botanical line has considered nature the most important material with metal closely following. Resin has largely been an afterthought, a necessary medium. It is time to embrace resin on its own. Yes, it’s still a tool, but the applications in which it can be used bend all of the rules. When I was approached for this project, it gave me the opportunity to stretch.
Two wedding bands, linked together and cast in a resin ice cube. That was my directive. Ecopoxy is a product I’ve been interested in for a long time. This bio-based epoxy resin now has different products, Flow Cast for casting and UVPoxy for coating. My applications are usually super thin, so UVPoxy is the right stuff for pendants, but with the ice cube, I knew I needed the casting resin.
A test application was essential. There’s no way I’d take real wedding rings on a first time experiment. When it was time for the real thing, I made the terrible mistake I tend to make: I messed with it. I couldn’t just let it sit. I had to poke it. At the exact wrong time.
Enter the world of patience and polishing. When a piece is well cast, there’s no need for polish. You cannot get it to look as good as properly poured. By introducing bubbles, I had created a big challenge. I spent hours wet sanding by hand, going down sequential grits. I tried fingernail buffers. I tried multiple polishing compounds. I went into the world to find polishing wheels and car wax. The sheer number of hours spent here are remarkable. I am not patient when it comes to polishing. I do not seek mirror finish. I don’t have time for perfection. Until I had to, and I realized that this is what separates the hobbyist and the amateur from the serious, career artist.
After that huge hurdle, it became apparent that some sort of stand would be helpful. The metalwork in the rings and the stand became the easy part of this project. My first stand was all wrong–a twisted wire heart. The second construction was better suited to the style.
When I asked what anniversary they were celebrating, the title is what he answered. It took me a second to recall Douglas Adams. Happy 42nd anniversary! I hope your wife is okay with our project!
