I recently came across the work of Scottish based silversmith Shimara Carlow. It turns out she was born in West Cork so since it’s the Cork Craft Month I thought it was as good a week as any to show you some of her work.
As well as her jewellery collection she has a large range of hand raised vessels. Some of which like the pieces above are oxidised and gold plated. Oxidisation is a process where you blacken silver using a solution called Liver of Sulphur. The solution reacts with the silver to create this deep black finish. I’ve read that you can use food that gives off sulphur like boiled eggs but I haven’t tried it. Apparently you mash up a warm boiled egg and put it in a plastic bag with the silver item. It sounds a bit messy but the Liver of Sulphur smells so bad I’d be happy to try the less smelly alternative. Oxidisation only works on metals like copper and silver so the gold in Carlows bowls remains unaffected.
Here are some more photos of her silversmithing work, have a look at her website to see her jewellery.
