Bug Bitten

I've been bitten by a new bug! More like a few bugs that go hand-n-hand. This coming Feb it will be 3 years (yeah I know it's embarrassing) since I bought an electroforming kit. I had the solution and everything needed to play with it but just never got around to it. Not surprising since I once kept an unfinished macrame wall project almost 20 years, lol. Hey...those wooden beads I salvaged from it are vintage now!

Anyway, this electroforming stuff is pretty cool! It is like electroplating except it deposits a heavier layer of metal on the pieces you have in the solution. Once they come out of the chemical bath you can patina them to different colors using homemade recipes or pre-mixed ones.



I've always loved the green weathered look copper gets when exposed to the elements. There is a copper domed roof on a church in Grand Rapids, MI that you can see from the highway... I just love the color of it. Last time I drove past it they were putting a new roof on it, it was bright and shiny again.

This process adds all kinds of possibilities for my glass work. Some of the above pieces came from nature like the mini pine cones, twig, acorns, and leaf. The ones in the photo are in various stages or being patina-ed or sealed to hold the color of the patina. Having a blast finding things to use.

Trying to decide to what to use for the blog giveaway, glass or metal? I'm way overdue for a drawing so stayed tuned to see what it will be.