Broom Straw Silver Casting
Recently my family and I visited Maker Faire in Austin and saw a lot of interesting artists at work. Here is Michiel Rushing demonstrating broom straw casting. First the silver is melted.
Next it’s poured into a bound broom head that has been soaked in water.
These are the castings. They look a little like stalactites. They will have to be cleaned in pickle and soldered to findings or drilled to make pendants, rings, or other jewelry.
My husband, who really likes melting things, made this one after seeing Michiel at work.
I’m going to cut the casting into two pieces and make the long part a pendant or maybe a pin. I’m not sure about the lower part yet. The nice thing about broom straw casting is if the results aren’t what you want you just melt it again and do another casting. Any little left over bits get put into the next casting also.
silver casting, broom straw casting, maker faire, Michiel Rushing
