UV Resin Tutorial

Interested in UV resin but haven’t tried it? Whatcha waitin for? A tutorial? Well it’s done. 11:20pm finished taping video. 11:42 started editing. 1:30 am going to bed! It will be in the newsletter which goes out first thing this am (Pacific Time)! If you haven’t signed up for our newsletter yet, please do. We’d also love your feedback on any ideas for new tutorials and things you want to learn!

Back on topic….UV resins are really fun to play with. They are super simple and perfect for a class situation. With the aide of a UV light source, you can cure the resin in 3 minutes or less. The only drawback that I can tell, is that you have to put in thin layers and cure as you go. With clear or very light colors you can fill the cavity more before curing. However, with darker colors, or small crevices, these should be done a little at a time. So if you have 10 students and they do 3 cures each, that’s 90 minutes minimum for hardening the resin. You might want to have more than 1 lamp!

One thing I also really liked is that you can paint the resin on with a brush. More creative possibilities! It is really thick, unlike regular resin. So you can paint on a thin layer to add color to a piece as an alternative to colored pencil etc. Then in less than 5 minutes, add another color or be done with it. What could be more simple and give immediate satisfaction?

I also showed in the tutorial how to do opaque white resin with a rub on. However, the opaque resin is really difficult to cure. It has to be impossibly thin and can take 20 minutes or longer to cure. Maybe not the best idea, however the possibilities are really fun. Rub-ons have yet to have their day as design detail in jewelry!

This experience conjures up some work I saw last year in Santa Fe. The artist painted resin on huge canvases. What was interesting was how many layers she had done and the work that was in between each layer. One of my best friends, Bronwen Heilman does this with glass. She does the most beautiful work painting in between layers of glass. She paints on the glass and then fuses the color. It still amazes me how she is able, through hot glass techniques, to wrap this painted glass around one of her lampwork beads. She does layers and layers. When you look at the bead, you see into the bead. Just like this woman did with resin. Working in layers can have dramatic effects. BTW, Bronwen has a great book on her technique!

So checkout the video tutorial and then give it a try. I love color, in all it’s forms. It’s a great addition to any work!