Bronzes are created using the Lost Wax Process. (For a pictorial see 'Gallery')
This is even more time consuming than the pottery/ Raku process.
Arina first designs and creates an 'original', from clay or Sculpey.
This form then gets immersed into a platinum-cure silicone rubber which is extremely stretchable and highly expensive. (Dragon Skin)
Once the rubber has hardened, the original form gets removed, leaving a cavity that will be filled with a specialty black wax.
Next, after hardening, the black wax is removed from the silicone and a sprue and vents are added. These are necessary channels for bronze to be poured in and air to escape when the wax is finally 'invested'.
Investing is the process of placing the wax piece into a silica fortified specialty gypsum, Hydrocal.
After the Hydrocal block has hardened and dried the form gets heated for hours in the oven to have remaining moisture removed and the wax melted out.
Lastly it needs to be completely burnt out at a higher temperature in an electrical kiln.
The hollowed Hydrocal block gets infused with Reiki and is now ready to accept liquid bronze of about 1750ºF.
Arina melts bronze or silver in a home-made forge using a propane torch and a blow drier. With the help of a friend the bronze gets poured into the Hydrocal forms.
After cooling the bronze sculptures need to be cleaned up. Sprue and vents need to be sawed off and the body of the sculpture needs to be sanded and polished.
As the method is archaic and anything but fail safe, much scrap is produced, but the final pieces of art are all the more special.
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The Process of Creation
Arina's pottery and other art works are one-of-a-kind, hand built from scratch objects filled with the Healing Power of Light and Love.
Urns, Wishing Wells and other Pottery are either hand built from a slab or wheel thrown. Clay is carefully selected for its use and blessed with Reiki before being worked to create a piece of beneficial earthenware.
The Greenware is allowed to dry for a minimum of 1-2 weeks before it gets fired the first time. This firing in an electrical kiln is called Bisque firing. The clay becomes, literally translated, 'terra cotta'.
The hardened bisque is now ready to be glazed, a process that can take up to 2 days depending on the intricacy of the glaze pattern. Each pot needs to get at least 3 coats of glaze with drying in between. Different glazes are used for different clay bodies.
After 'candling' in an oven overnight (keeping warm to drive out all moisture) the pieces can finally be fired for the last time.
Arina uses the archaic Japanese art of Raku for all her urns and some of her other pottery. In a Raku firing, the objects are taken from the electric kiln while still red-hot, at about 1500ºF. They are immediately placed into a fire proof container filled with shredded paper or sawdust. The filler material ignites and burns off, leaving the pottery covered in ashes. Like the phoenix rising from these ashes, the finished pieces attain a spectacular appearance that is never exactly the same.
Lastly, after being cleansed, the pieces are again infused with the Divine Love and Light of Reiki.
Thus a blessed vessel, rising from the ashes, is born for the sacred remains of a loved one.
After arrival at a customer's home the vessel can be cleansed again by running cold water over it for about 30 seconds. It may additionally be recharged by bathing it in moon light. The initially infused divine Reiki energy will always stay present in the sacred vessel.
Urns can be commissioned asking for a specific size and/or shape. Lead time is about 4-6 weeks.
Immortal Pet Paws Process (check the 'Gallery' for a pictorial)
For Pet Paws Arina sends the customer a kit including non-toxic, home-made salt dough to get an impression of their beloved pet's paw. Alternatively, the customer buys 'Play-Doh' and a suitable flat container that is at least 1/2 inch larger in diameter than the pet's paw.
To order or for questions please send an email to info@arinakay.com or info@enlightenedpottery.com
Instructions for cats and small dogs: Keep the play-doh in the container if possible. Let the pet stand. Place the container under one of the pet's legs so that the paw pushes into the Play-doh. You may gently press the toes further into the Play-Doh if you wish for a deeper impression. Carefully lift your pet's paw out of the Play-doh, and check your impression. Impression depth for cats and small dogs should be 1/4" to 3/8".
Instructions for medium and large sized dogs: Coat the bottom surface of your pet's paw with vegetable oil. Trim away fur if needed. Lift up your dog's leg and push the container of Play-doh into the bottom of the paw. Gently push down on the large pad and all 4 toes. Carefully lift the Play-doh back away from the paw. Impression depth for medium and large dogs should be about 1/2" - no deeper.
If the impression does not look good, knead the Play-Doh, smooth it out with a rolling pin and retake an impression. Ideally, the impression should be in the middle of the container. There must be dough underneath the impression as well.
Seal the container and mail to Arina! Lead time for Immortal Pet Paws are about 6 weeks.