Some years back, I apprenticed with a friend of mine, Blaine Hess, whose favorite pastime was making the kind of insanely detailed fantasy jewelry you’d see on big biker dudes, heavy metal guitarists, and skull enthusiasts in general. Blaine taught me much of what he knew about jewelry wax carving and plans were made to make a venture out of this; he had all the equipment and needed a partner, and I was ready and willing to help out and learn everything I could. Sadly, some technical jewelry-making details never got resolved, life in general intervened and the whole venture was shelved. I don’t think Blaine ever tried to start it up again before he died a couple of years ago. His sister was kind enough to let me try to make a go of carrying on Blaine’s work because otherwise all his molds and original wax carvings he’d never made master casts of would have just languished in a storage space somewhere. So, with Andrea’s blessing, I’ve been playing around again, after many years, with Lost Wax Casting.
What you see here in these photos are just a few of the pieces Blaine finished and had molds made of. In the months to come I will start posting some of the finished work I’ve done myself, using Blaine’s carving techniques. If you’re interested in obtaining one of these beauties for yourself, I have a few things up on my Etsy page or you can go to the Contact page to order a custom ring size. Until then, enjoy the pics!
