Custom “Hands of Time” – Casting Your Hands In Lead Crystal – Part III

Earlier in the week we met Bernie and Lucie of Stone Ridge Glass and learned about the beginning of the lost-wax process used to create their gorgeous one-of-a-kind custom cast glass “Hands of Time” sculptures: commemorative pieces that capture the unique handprint of the owner.

Today, Bernie walks us through what happens once the molten wax has hardened and taken on the form of the customer’s hands and is ready to be removed from the mold: let the lead crystal glass art process begins!

The wax positive can be removed after a couple of hours cooling time. Remarkably, the wax captures the tiniest details.

We have made castings of individuals ranging from eleven days old: the infant in “Naptime” who required considerable coaxing and nursing during the initial mold-making process, to the 85-year-old woman who wanted her hands cast in prayer , a beautiful piece called “Matins”.

Blemishes caused by trapped air bubbles can be repaired using sculpting tools and techniques.

The wax positive is mounted on a clay base, to be surrounded with a cardboard tube which is then filled with liquid kiln mold material capable of withstanding the 1500 degree F. temperature of the kiln.

After steaming the wax out of the kiln molds and letting them dry for a couple of days, they are loaded with lead crystal and readied for an eight-day kiln firing. Melting the lead crystal into the mold takes only about a day; the remaining week involves reducing the temperature by only three degrees F. per hour to properly anneal the casting and prevent stress fractures from forming, sometimes only months later.

Remember the adorable mom and daughter shot from “Hands of Time – Part II“? Here’s the finished product…

The mother-daughter “Just Like Me” casting finished and mounted on a marble base.

The father of “Storytime,” a history professor, read a children’s book to his 4-year-old son while he held his dad’s little finger in the curing mold material.

The father-son “Storytime” casting finished and mounted on a marble base, available at CustomMade.com.

For folks living too far away to visit our central Maine studio (just about everybody), we have developed a mailable kit with everything needed for the customer to make us the wax positive of his or her own hands.  Once shipped back to us, we are able to use it to make the lead crystal casting.

Thanks to Bernie and Lucie for taking us into their world this week! To contact Bernie and Lucie to learn more about them, the glassmaking process, and how to commission your own original Hands of Time or gorgeous glasscape, please click here.

Your comments and feedback are welcomed below!