Electroforming is an art form which most feels like true alchemy. Items of beauty and significance are gathered together, immersed into mysterious and vibrantly colored liquids, and in a day or so are transformed into a new work of art made of glimmering precious metals. One could be forgiven for believing the pieces have a little bit of real magic.
Do you seek the true, scientific explanation of electroforming? I am no scientist, but to put it in terms that are easiest for me to explain, electroforming deposits metal onto an object which is conductive and immersed in a chemical bath. Enchanted Leaves explains it in more detail here.
Electroforming artists use many different kinds of objects in their creations, from organic things such as acorns, leaves, twigs, and bugs, to plastics, to handmade sculptures of polymer or epoxy clay. There are so many possibilities, it’s no wonder that electroforming can take hold of the artist and inspire them to keep trying new things. What starts as a curious hobby becomes an obsession. In the case of organics, being able to preserve what nature so beautifully created by encasing it in copper is absolutely awe-inspiring. True alchemy, indeed!
