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Is It Bone or Is It Faux or Is It Faux Bone?

I had the most intensive Faux Bone workshop EVER!  
Robert Dancik decided to play in NOLA in the month of May teaching anyone who wanted to learn about Faux Bone at Thomas Mann's studioFlux and I was up to the challenge.

What is Faux Bone you ask?  
Well, it is PVC but a higher grade of PVC.  It is non-toxic, malleable, can be stained, dyed, twisted, and was founded by Robert.

It comes in sheets of various thickness just like metal but sawing is like cutting through butter.
I started off making one of Robert's designs so I can learn everything about the Faux Bone.
After cutting out my shape and sanding to make it real smooth I used a Dremel engraver to draw my designs into the bone.  Next was to make those engraved sections pop, basically just adding some acrylic paint in the crevices and then wiping the excess off.  Last was to give it a good stain to make it look as though it had been aging for thousands of years.
How do you like me now?

Remember I said Faux bone is very malleable?  
Just heat this baby up and you can bend it and shape it to almost anything.  I decided to make a bracelet with New Orleans longitude and latitude so you will always know how to return.
Originally I placed a stone in the center of the compass but for some reason it kept popping out!  Ugh!!!  So I decided to mix up acrylic red (just a tiny bit) with epoxy resin to get a carnelian look.
I am going to have to practice on my stone setting.
The Journey Is The Destination ~Dan Eldon
This is Robert giving a demonstration on how to make curves on Faux bone.  

Robert is so open and free with what he knows.  
He had no secrets and was willing to pass on as much information as possible.  My brain almost froze up with all the information it was receiving.  He is a great instructor and if you ever have a chance to take a workshop with him do it!  If you are not anywhere near Robert then check out his book but taking his workshop is "worth the price of admission".  Hehehe!!!  That phrase was said many times between all of us in the workshop.
I am attracted to Robert's work because he likes to tell a story within the piece itself.  
He had me at Amulets and Talismans!
And here...
were my Compadres!  
They were so much fun to be with for three solid days.  
I already miss them.  
However, most of them live in New Orleans or at least close by so hopefully we will all meet up and have our own powwow soon.

ॐ
Namaste
Kalaya
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Comments

  1. Libellula Jewelry™June 12, 2013 at 8:51 AM

    I've had Robert's class on my radar but didn't know that he was teaching locally--darn! from now on, I'll be keeping up with his schedule and saving my pennies. ;)

    *beautiful work!*

    ReplyDelete
  2. Kalaya SteedeJune 12, 2013 at 1:45 PM

    YES! It would be so much fun with you there as well. I will keep you posted when I hear about things. Merci again for all your help setting up that new, greener, way of etching. This guy I met suggested using solar panels for energy! How fun is that? I bet it would take FOREVER though. xo

    ReplyDelete
  3. AnonymousJune 13, 2013 at 8:58 AM

    Beautiful!!

    ReplyDelete

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