T.O.P. Crate is a 5×10 ft miniature project/exhibition space housed in The Opulent Project’s studio in Portland, Oregon. The current and ongoing exhibition is called Mistakes Were Made, a collection of over four years’ worth of rejected, less-than-perfect wax models some cast in bronze and silver.
Making wax models is generally The Opulent Project’s first step in casting metal jewelry. The wax model is then covered with a special plaster and is placed in a kiln until the wax melts out; leaving a cavity into which molten metal enters and hardens. The result is a metal version of the wax model.
The Opulent Project remakes old jewelry over and over again using these molds, and sometimes it’s just not possible to pull a perfect wax model out of a mold so they’re left with these unusual “accidents.” So they decided to make use of these “accidents” and create a variety of forms and objects, which they cast in bronze and silver.
