Resin Obsession

I believe I am like most visual artists who are susceptible to dabbling in other mediums.  So I'm blogging about my latest, which is resin.  I purchased the two-part epoxy resin ages ago after taking a class with Katy, my local Zentangle CZT.  I'm a tad embarrassed that for some reason I was afraid to jump into the resin pool and get my feet wet. Finally, after taking a class at Beadfest a couple weeks ago, I decided it was time.

 

All I can say is now I am totally addicted.  I purchased the kit from Rio Grande which comes with the cups and craft sticks for mixing.

 

 

I first decided that I wanted to play with a little color.  I was told in my Beadfest class that we could use Adirondack dye inks.  So I added a couple drops and ended up with a cranberry-colored batch.  I poured the resin in my mold, after applying the mold release.  I also decided to try and mix in a little color and swirl it, without fully mixing it.  I thought the effect would be cool.

 

 

 

The pieces above are the result.  They turned out great, however they give off traces of color on my fingers.  So I am afraid that not fully mixing the color was not a good plan.  Also, the ring is a bit too flexible, and I think that adding the color affected the curing of the resin.  One other issue is that the mold release was not fully dry when I poured in the resin.  The result, which is hard to show, is that there are a few small cavities on the band of the ring, and next time I will be much more careful.  

 

The challenge is that this is a creative medium that demands a bit of planning. So it's best to prep several pieces and then do a "pouring" session. I've also heard that it's best to work with resin in warmer weather. So I might put this on hold for now.