Journal

Muscadine Necklace

Muscadine Necklace

“The process of making great wine is all about time, and so became the process of making the grapes for this necklace.”

Bespoke Muscadine Necklace. I made this necklace for a local client that has a muscadine vineyard. Originally, this project began over a year ago. The idea was to design a muscadine leaf that I hand-carved in wax and cast in green gold. The grapes were to be cast from actual tiny grapes from her vineyard.

Last summer (not the summer we just finished) I visited the vineyard and picked some tiny grapes that I froze in ice trays to preserve before casting later in the week. I thawed out the grapes and made a wax tree for casting. Unfortunately, my casting equipment had a weird malfunction and the whole process had to be aborted.

My client wore the necklace with the single leaf daily and loved it, but we wanted to try and make the grapes eventually as part of the design. So, this summer (a year later) I visited her vineyard and gathered some more tiny grapes. Again, I froze them in ice trays until it was time for casting. This second attempt was a success and I actually made a production mold so that more tiny grapes can be cast in metal for future designs.

Also, our local paper just wrote an article about my client’s vineyard this week. My client is so happy with her custom necklace, that I’m currently working on a new custom ring for her. I’ll be sure to share the finished piece when I’m done with this fun project.

 

Leave a comment