silicone valley

truth be told, i don't know what the actual silicone valley is or was, or where said valley is located...or why it was called that...nor do i care. i do know it makes for an [somewhat] apropos title for this next blog post. why you ask? well, because we made silicone molds!

this is one of those skills that i've never actual sat down to teach myself, or learn. i've watched youtube videos, read articles, even talked to people in the field...but i've never actually made one. i've bought them. but MAN they can be expensive, and sometimes sort of ugly or old-looking...nothing contemporary that say, a mandy, would use.

well we delved deep into the valley with Chef Ron as our spirited, knowledgeable guide. on the agenda? gems! think facets, think shiny, think luxurious, think unique...

we were given a handful of glass and plastic jewels and a piece of plexi-glass. we first had to attached them to the board and then built clay walls around them. all in preparation for the silicone.

now, i'm nothing if not fastidious when it comes to working with messy materials. there is a time and place for meticulousness, and i do believe that working with silicone is one of those times.

you must be methodical, you must be prepared, you must have a vision from beginning to end (since you only have a limited timeframe with which to work before your silicone begins to set) and you must, must, must remember to follow the techniques and rules in order to eliminate unnecessary flaws, air bubbles and blemishes on your finished product - or alas, all of your hard work, time [and product] will end up a waste.

making molds is one of those things that should be done with attention to detail. and of course, it would make sense to make a bunch of molds in one day, given the amount of time they take. you could spend an entire day making a bunch of molds. but boy would they be worth it!

you can make a mold of almost ANYTHING! and that excites me. [here, i'm already eyeing my collection of antique buttons my grandmother, and great-grandmother gave to me when i was little]. oh the fun i'm going to have!!

what i love about Chef Ron is that he is a pioneer of all that is cutting edge in this field that i love so very much. i like his clever nature, his creative mind and the fact he CREATES. it's something i SO enjoy seeing in someone else! no, i'm not even trying to compare us, because he wins. BUT, i respect the notion that...hey, there is no mold of this exact shape, article, thing?? well, i'm making one then! that just makes me swoon! and continues to inspire me along my path!! it's all very "if there's a mountain, move it."

so i will admit, originally, i struggled with [don't laugh] making the clay walls. *rolls eyes* i over thought it, made them ridiculously tall and TOO thick... Chef Ron basically came over and said, "that makes no sense. fix it." and so i did. thank goodness he's so straight-forward. i LOVE straight-forward! if there's one thing that bothers me when learning something, is if someone is too sweet and too careful with their feedback. granted, no one wants to hear that they do something imperfect, BUT if you're like me, you're just grateful to have someone like that say "you want to be better? then do it better!" god, i'm so sad RBI classes are over already! [i will never forgive the LIRR by the way.]

anyway, i took some photos of the process from start to finish.

from preparing the jewels on the plexi-glass...

to coating the jewels to prevent air bubbles...

to pouring to break those small, blemish-causing bubbles that could ruin your mold...

to a particularly cool photo of all the molds poured and ready to set...

to the finished product two days later (word of caution, let your molds air-dry after you wash them, so as to eliminate debris in your molds!)

and of course, i took a few shots of the molds at work ... after Chef Ron spoke to us about the various ways that we could use our new molds! from sugar to sugar paste to chocolate to candy... it's just really exciting!

sugar paste goes in, sugar paste jewels come out.

just imagine this painted with a disco dust or shimmery gold. talk about adding some edible luxury to your cake! [lub dub]

well, there are about 1,000,000 more things i have yet to post, BUT alas, i've got a train to catch! i'm planning on talking about flowers, pastillage, and SO MUCH MORE!

as always...

more to come!

xo

m