Last Saturday a sand casting workshop was held at AIVA Gallery & Studio, Shanghai.  The workshop was led by Chilean/Italian jewellery artist Maria Ignacia Walker.  

上周六AIVA Gallery & Studio進行了一場由智利/意大利首飾藝術家Maria Ignacia Walker主持的砂鑄首飾工坊。學員們在老師及助教的帶領下，嘗試了砂鑄工法，制作了各種不同形態的首飾或小物件。

The workshop started with a small chat over tea and snack.  Maria introduced herself to the students, and talked about sand casting and her pieces done by various casting techniques.  Everyone had a chance to see and feel Maria's elegant and free-spirited jewellery pieces.

工坊開始前，藝術家及助教先與提早到達的學員茶敘。Maria近幾年受邀在世界各地的藝術學校/機構教學及創作，她與學員分享了她的一些創作歷程，并且向學員展示了她使用各種鑄造方式制作的作品。

After tea time, it's time to get our hands dirty.  First Maria showed the students the process of sand casting, then students follow the steps to start making their own.  The sand used in this workshop was brought back from the UK, as the sand we found locally did not deliver the desired result.  About 90% of sand from each use can be reused again.

工坊開始，老師先向學員示范工作的流程。本次使用的鑄造用砂來自英國，因國內目前較難找到效果合適的砂子。一次鑄造完大約有90%可以回收再次使用。學員們按照老師的指示，填砂、夯實、印模、修模、開槽、刷滑石粉、合上模子，最后用紙膠帶把模子固定。

Then it came the time of fire and heat.  The metal（silver）was melted with soldering flame.  Because it's difficult for beginners to tell whether the metal liquid was ready, this step was mostly done by the artist and her assistant.

接下來就到了炙熱的部分啦！用高溫焊槍將金屬加熱成液體，再倒入剛剛制作好的砂模。由于學員較難拿捏高溫液態金屬的狀態，這個部分主要由老師操作。

During the whole process, Maria would give advices and remind students of some details that required attention. 

過程當中老師會對學員的想法提出建議，并提醒學員注意事項。

The half-done pieces taken out from sand mold would still need to be filed and polished.  We needed to make sure the piece was confortable to wear while maintaining it's unique texture.

從模子里取出的半成品，還需要挫修及打磨，在維持表面肌理的同時，也要確保佩戴的安全性與舒適性。

Students all delievered amazing results.  It has been a warm and fruitful winter afternoon.

這次工坊學員們都發揮了巧思，制作出專屬于自己的首飾物件，度過了一個碩果累累的溫暖冬日午后。

Thank you all for participating.  Hope we can see you soon in our next workshops!

謝謝各位學員的參與，期待下次工坊再相遇！

Want to participate in our future workshops? Please subscribe to this official account and we will keep you posted.

如果你想參與后續的工坊和相關活動，不如關注我們的公眾號，我們會不斷地為大家推送有趣且好玩的工坊和活動內容～