Lost Wax Casting with Mothmade Jewels

We are so excited to host guest tutor Lily Wenmoth of Mothmade Jewels to teach students her own particular lost wax style!

This one off course is taught over 3 classes - 7, 14 and 28 November. Note that there is a two week gap between the last two classes to allow for waxes to be cast.

Lily will show students how to create interesting designs in wax using her own techniques which include mixing waxes, and creating organic looking shapes and textures.

Waxes are worked on in the first two weeks of the course, then sent away to be professionally cast in the metal of your choice - we usually start with bronze but some students wish to go straight into silver. Once your pieces are back for the third class you will be taught how to cut, file, and shape them into wearable pieces.

One of Lily's specialties is utilising cast-in-place stones. The gemstones can be set into the wax forms before it is cast in metal, therefore need to be heat resistant. For this, we offer a range of cubic zirconias, an inexpensive and colourful manmade diamond.

Included in the class fee are all your different types of waxes, sandpaper and courier costs.

Not included are the gemstones, casting and metal costs which vary from student to student depending on what they want to make. Small castings can cost around $7 - $11 and metals are between $0.35 cents per gram for bronze - $4 per gram for silver. Please see details on our Regular Classes page.

Kids over 12 or so are welcome to attend, but anyone under 16 must be accompanied by an enrolled parent or caregiver.

Tutor artist bio: Lily Wenmoth (she/they) is an Ōtautahi local. She is primarily self taught in her jewellery making processes, and established her brand Mothmade Jewels in 2021. Her designs are now in stores around the motu and are all made right here in the Workspace Studios workshop. Her designs are easily recognizable and characterized by organic, twisting and bubbly shapes set with sparkly gemstones.