Nature Inspired Jewelry

The best way to learn something is not always from a how-to manual, with clinical instructions and scientific results. It is often best to seek the doer with hands-on experience who knows from doing. I wrote this book at age 86 with a long life of experiences as a Silversmith Artist and Author to draw on for that wisdom and knowledge. It is 148 pages with colored photos of my castings along with how I made a career using nature as my inspiration. Revealing the secrets of how I fossilized Mother Nature's masterpieces. From lost wax techniques to organic burnouts, I have done it all. If it melts, Silver, Gold, Bronze, Brass, or copper, I've put a torch to it. Being self-taught I made many mistakes and learned from them all. These and more I share in this book. If I could not retrieve it from nature I carved it in wax. After all, your imagination is the only difference between a dragon and a lizard. When doing organic burnouts I instruct you on how to respect the creatures you live with because nature's balance needs them all.

I tried large flying insects with big wings and small insects with funky bodies. If they lived in my environment, I probably would have attempted to immortalize them. I basically found that burnout is a one-time deal, and you stand a good chance of losing detail or even the entire casting. So if you made a first-time mold of rubber, you had a better chance of capturing nature's details. Then, best of all, you can reproduce it many times and let Mother Nature keep all her kids. My law of the land is to all creatures, big and small You have 70 acres of my land to roam, but if you come into my yard, you are a candidate for my casting pot.

I found that my best hunting spots were the land I walked on, and then the specimens that interested persons brought me. Pet stores are great for dead reptiles. Never underestimate leftovers from dinner. Taxidermists are outrageous for unusual possibilities. Never forget that you are not original, Mother Earth made fossils long before I produced an organic casting. Find small fossils you can mold and reproduce.

Just remember from Lemuria and Atlantis, Göbekli Tepe, to Egyptian life to death, you can find interesting treasures buried in your imagination