How to work with mother of pearl. master secrets. Contacts Secrets of working with mother-of-pearl

Yuri Polyakov.

Open the sink.

Open the shell (work with mother-of-pearl)

Hard-shell mollusks of the most bizarre forms can be found in any river or lake, not to mention the seas and oceans, where their varieties number in the thousands. Although plastics and other materials have replaced shells, they have not lost their importance in applied arts even now.

Under the outer dark brown-greenish shell of the sash, there is an amazing decorative material - mother of pearl. In terms of strength, it is not inferior to ornamental stones, and in terms of beauty, an exquisite combination of various opalescent pale blue, pink, red-orange, even black shades, it has no equal. No wonder mother-of-pearl in translation from German means "mother of pearls."

You can collect the shells of dead mollusks along the shores of the seas and rivers. Many of them have already been cleaned by water, sun and wind. Of course, there are also broken ones, but for many crafts this does not matter. True, if the shells have been out of the water for a long time, they have become brittle, faded and are not suitable for work. This is especially true of such thin-walled shells as the river toothless or sea mussel. For this reason, they are never dried in the sun if they are to be kept whole.

There are also those that need to be cleaned of lime coatings and plants that have grown on their surface. Beautiful and rare shells, as a rule, are used entirely in crafts. Copies with chips or broken serve as materials for carving, inlay, collages.

Dirt is scraped off the outer surface with metal brushes or a knife, lime residues are removed with a brush dipped in a 15% hydrochloric acid solution. It is useful to recall the safety rules when working with acids. Work should be done in a well-ventilated area. After wetting the product, rinse thoroughly under running water and clean with a wire brush. Repeat the operation several times until complete cleaning.

So the shells are cleaned. Peel off the outer layer (this applies to mother-of-pearl shells). Peel off with files or on an emery wheel, gradually moving from a coarser tool to a thin, finishing one. The next operation is getting blanks. To do this, the shells are cut into pieces with a hacksaw. If their configuration is complex, use a special jigsaw (see Fig. 1). After that, give the desired shape with a file or on an emery wheel. Clean the edges of the workpiece with needle files. Next, sand the surfaces with sandpaper with a grain size of 100 to 20 microns and polish with polishing pastes on a felt or flannel wheel. Please note that GOI paste is very eaten into the surface and it is difficult to remove it later. Therefore, it is better to use a paste made from wax with the addition of tooth powder.

Sometimes a hole needs to be drilled in the sink. Its material is easily amenable to conventional metal drills, even by hand. For these purposes, you can make a simple device, shown in Figure 2. In a wooden handle with an awl, pre-pierce a hole whose diameter is slightly smaller than the diameter of the drill. With light strokes or just pressure, the drill is firmly inserted into the handle.

A homemade drill made from a microelectric motor taken from a broken toy is very convenient for drilling. Having fixed a grinding stick on the shaft, it is convenient to use it when grinding hard-to-reach places, which is especially necessary in openwork carving. In some cases, it is necessary to glue blanks from shells with metal, stone, wood and other materials. The best glue is PVA, traces of it after drying are almost invisible. For greater strength, gypsum is added in small portions to the glue and, stirring, is brought to a creamy slurry. The surfaces to be bonded must be treated with coarse sandpaper. Gypsum can also be added to other adhesives, such as Moment.

And now we will tell you what types of work can be carried out with prepared sinks.

Engraving
It is preceded by drawing a pattern on the prepared surface of the workpiece from the shell. For a novice engraver, the easiest way to transfer a design is through carbon paper. To keep the lines clear and not smeared during work, they must be fixed with a varnish film. You can apply the pattern first on paper, then stick it with rubber glue on the sink. After adding glue, the pattern is pricked with dots. Remains of glue are removed from the holes with a swab dipped in gasoline, and ink is rubbed with it. Then the paper is removed, the dots are connected with lines using an engraving needle or claw, shown in Figure 3. The engraving is often tinted with ordinary colored pencils. This operation begins with the fact that the contour lines are outlined with a black pencil, after which they wipe the surface with a damp cloth. Pencil marks remain visible only along the contour line. Next, the inside of the drawing is scraped with a small chisel with a fine notch. The density of the color in the engraved drawing depends on the frequency of the notch. Powdered dyes can also be rubbed in. It is more convenient to carry out engraving on a special device resembling a fungus (see Fig. 4). It is cut from dense oak or beech wood. Using mastic, the workpiece is glued to the fungus. Mastic is prepared on the basis of an acetone-soluble adhesive (for example, BF-4), with the addition of chalk or tooth powder until a pasty mass is obtained. The disadvantage of this mastic is the lengthy drying of the glued workpiece. It is also inconvenient that, after engraving, the workpiece is separated from the fungus with acetone. Therefore, it is better to use gray plasticine. True, when working with a drill, it warms up and loses strength.

During operation, the fungus is held in the left hand, the hat is rested against the stop bed, and the engraving tool or cutter is clamped in the right hand.

Engraving tools (cutters, chisels) are easiest to make from fragments of needle files, taps, drills.

Thread
The same tools are used here as for engraving. Only openwork carving requires a special device that is used when sawing with a jigsaw. The tool for this type of work and the technique of its use are somewhat different from carving on other materials. This is explained by the layering of mother-of-pearl shells. In order not to disrupt the layer, the thread is carried out by scraping. The main tool in the work is a trihedral scraper. The tool is sharpened as shown in Figure 5. Usually it is prepared in 2-3 pieces of different diameters from 1.5 to 6 mm. A sharpened scraper is inserted into a handle made according to the hand. Then you will be less tired. The tool can be used for all types of shell carving: relief, three-dimensional, contour, geometric, smooth with coloring and the most complex openwork or, as it is also called, carving on the opening. Carving differs from engraving in a more convex image. After drawing the drawing, the contours of the image should be trimmed. First, all contour lines and borders are deepened, and then the drawing is cut from the side, separating it from the background. The tool in this case passes to the right or left of the drawing line. Surrounding the image with a deep groove, then remove several layers from the background. At this stage of work, you can use needle files, files, oblique knives and chisels. With openwork carving, first, drilling and sawing through holes are carried out using a drill and a jigsaw, and only after that the workpiece is fixed to the fungus. It must be remembered that the dignity of the material is revealed more fully if the image is successfully combined with the color transitions of the crystal structure of the shell.

The work is completed by grinding with fine sandpaper and grinding sticks (see Fig. 6). Final finishing - polishing with flannel.

Toning
Toning the sink helps to enhance the perception of the natural virtues of the material. The simplest technique is matting. In this case, the recesses are left matte, and the convex image is polished to a pearly sheen. The transition from glossy to matte expressively emphasizes the volume of the image.

Another technique is the action of chemical reagents on the organic basis of the shell. It is used more often for mother-of-pearl shells. First, they are kept for 3 days in a solution of silver nitrate (lapis) or potassium permanganate (potassium permanganate), and then dried in sunlight for several hours. With this method of toning, the choice of colors is limited to gray, brown or black. It is also necessary to take into account the natural tones of the color of the shells, then the color scheme can be somewhat expanded - to get gray-blue, brown-orange shades.

Another method of tinting finished mother-of-pearl products is the use of aniline dyes. Practice has shown that it is preferable to use dyes for woolen fabrics. They adhere better to mother-of-pearl and are more resistant to fading. We advise you to use colors that are close to natural, found on shells - orange, blue, green, black. The solution is prepared according to the recipe indicated on the package. Before taking on the coloring of the finished product, test the dye on samples. With their help, it is easier to choose the required dosage and staining time.

Mother-of-pearl products to be dyed are treated with a 3-5% solution of acetic acid, and then brought to a boil in a dye solution and cooled along with it. Coloring is carried out without boiling, keeping in the dye from 2 to 5 days. In this case, a little vinegar is added to the dye. Painted products are dried and polished. The advantage of aniline dyes is that they completely retain the natural opalescent luster of mother-of-pearl. To paint the product not completely, but selectively, it is necessary to varnish the parts that are not subject to tinting. After staining, it is removed with a swab dipped in acetone.

Painting on mother-of-pearl
In addition to tinting mother-of-pearl products, there is a tonal painting of shells that is most interesting for visual perception.

Its secret lies in the fact that the dye, as it were, penetrates into the very structure of the shell. Dry coloring pigment is diluted in a solution of acetic acid. Vinegar, impregnating and simultaneously dissolving the calcium of the shell, promotes the penetration of the dye into the structure of the mother-of-pearl. This work is delicate and requires exceptional attention. The drawing obtained by the engraving method is impregnated with a dye of dark tones with a thin watercolor brush. The paint must be allowed to soak in, dry, and then wash off random stains under running water. The product is wiped dry and polished again to finally remove unnecessary dye stains that have had time to be absorbed. Further painting of the background surfaces is carried out with a large brush. The paint is evenly applied to the sink, give time to dry. Then the product is washed under running water. If the tone is not sufficiently saturated, the operation is repeated. If you want to lighten the tone, the sink is slightly polished. In addition to aniline dyes, you can use watercolor pigments, diluting them with acetic acid at a concentration of not more than 20%. In weakly concentrated dye solutions, the tones are less saturated. We do not recommend using high concentrations - they are harmful to health.

Shell mosaic
As a rule, it is performed on the basis of canvas, plywood or hardboard. If the work is being done on canvas, a stretcher is prepared, a canvas is stretched over it, previously glued with fish glue or PVA glue. The composition of the shells is first laid out on canvas according to a pattern applied with finely sharpened charcoal. Each sink is carefully coated with PVA glue and tightly laid in place. In compositions, shells are used both whole and broken. It is permissible to use shells from various types of mollusks. Shells with stones and corals look beautiful.

Whole shells and their trimmings can sometimes be shaped with a file or wire cutters.

One example of composing a mosaic of shells is shown in the figure. Peel-offs from shells on plywood, hardboard or board tinted with black varnish look peculiar and interesting. The most common river ponds, coils, toothless and sea scallops, mussels and oysters can also be used here.

The surface of the board is carefully sanded, and then covered with 2-3 layers of black varnish. Suitable and bituminous varnish. If you use hardboard as a base, think about which of its sides will become the front, because one side is embossed, the other is smooth. The surface of this material is best tinted with water-based paint with the addition of gouache.

The execution of mother-of-pearl mosaics is close in technique to the Florentine stone mosaic, only the range of mother-of-pearl, although more delicate, does not have such a variety of colors.

Recently, artists have begun to work more often in the so-called cloisonne typesetting technique. Its essence lies in the fact that between the pieces of shells of various configurations, a metal wire or a black-tinted paste is laid, which, when dried, forms, as it were, partitions. Pasta is prepared as follows. Take PVA glue, cement or gypsum and soot. Everything is thoroughly mixed and applied to the base in a thin layer. Not allowing the paste to harden, pre-prepared polished pieces of mother-of-pearl are quickly laid on it and fixed.

OCR Roschupkin Maxim

Mother of pearl - from the German perlamutter ("mother", "progenitor") - an impressive result of the vital activity of marine organisms in the depths of the underwater worlds. Natural mother-of-pearl is the inner thick calcareous layer of the shells of some types of marine molluscs. On the Mohs scale, mother-of-pearl stone reaches up to 4.5 hardness, density - 2.7 g / cm³. It has been known to mankind for more than 40 thousand years.

Mother of pearl is an impressive result of the vital activity of marine organisms in the depths of the underwater worlds.

A nugget of a natural white-pink hue with elegant luminous, like a two-color northern lights, overflows since ancient times has been an incredible success with people for its accessibility and beauty at the same time. Therefore, the name of white mother-of-pearl - the progenitor of pearls - in the traditional languages ​​​​of the world sounds almost identical to the German transcription: mother of pearl (“pearl mother” or “mother of the pearl”) in English, mereperle and later la narch (“shell”) in French, madreperla in Italian.

The world of mother-of-pearl consists of an accumulation of white matter, mainly carbonic white lime (aragonite), inside sea shells. A mollusk living in a shell with its entire body is able to isolate and layer such organic limestone inside with various layers consisting of small plates, combining them with inorganic substances. It is on the waters in which the shell lived and what it ate at that time, as well as on the thickness and structure of the layers, the degree and intensity of the color of the overflows of white mother-of-pearl will depend in the future. The thinner the layer of aragonite, the brighter the pearl color.

Natural mother-of-pearl is the inner thick calcareous layer of the shells of some types of marine molluscs.

The color of the overflows of the mineral is a kind of iridescent play of shades of one layer of the shell, a kind of mother-of-pearl world. And this, in turn, is already capable of creating a substance of various colors: from green to gray, from delicate pink to beige-gold and white-blue. It is green mother-of-pearl, which has the second name “galiotis”, has a natural ability to distribute overflows inside the shell into different shades.

It is found in nature and a pure yellow gem. In addition, this natural marine creature can be found in purple-bluish hues and even black.

Properties of mother-of-pearl stone (video)

The historical component of the stone

The world of mother-of-pearl has captured the attention since ancient times, one had only to look at a neat pea, radiating an even and pure radiance. Pink mother-of-pearl is considered one of the best in terms of evenness of shade, and therefore, in terms of sophistication of its glow. Such stones are grown inside mollusks from tropical seas, where the warmth of the currents seems to tell nature not to give up such delights.

White mother-of-pearl stone from the time of Ancient Rome and Ancient Egypt was valued on a par with pearls. It is most often generated by shells in the seas of the Pacific and Indian Ocean basins, the Philippines and off the coast of the Japanese Islands. It is from ancient civilizations that the trail of the magical properties of mother-of-pearl stone stretches: the nugget was valued for the personification of power and wisdom. According to a popular legend, the famous ancient Roman emperor Neuron lined his tomb from floor to ceiling with mother-of-pearl plates.

During the excavations of ancient Egyptian civilizations, a large number of well-preserved solid jewelry items were found: bracelets, combs, necklaces and earrings. Since that time, it is believed that the magic of mother-of-pearl stones is not only in their physical properties of long-term storage in nature, but also in preserving the youth and beauty of the owner of gem products. Black mother-of-pearl is a living example of such magical power and mystery, especially since it is considered one of the rare ones and is born in the shells of fresh rivers.

Gallery: mother-of-pearl stone (50 photos)

then for the peoples of the northern countries, where the finished nugget began to be imported from the East, it became the personification of a rare sign, surrounded by the mystery of overseas origin, carrying well-being in various fields.

The high cost of stone acquired over time in Europe and northern countries made it possible to create even dishes, especially goblets, for noble courts. To drink from a mother-of-pearl goblet dressed in a silver frame means to be healed of an illness and prolong your life. Therefore, even then the magical properties of the sea nugget were transformed into zodiac meanings, and the world of mother-of-pearl lured its fans into astrology.

It is according to the horoscope that the stone suits Pisces and Aquarius. Gray mother-of-pearl endows the zodiac sign Pisces with determination, minimizes depression, strengthens the spirit and gives confidence to more vulnerable representatives.

Mother of pearl and the Aquarius zodiac sign exist in perfect tandem. For eccentric and sometimes peculiar natures, a sea stone acts as a guide in any endeavor, whether it be a creative or material component.

Wearing a product made of mother-of-pearl gives Aquarius peace of mind, helps them achieve their goals in finding their path that determines their life. And among the Chinese and Indians, the magical properties of mother-of-pearl come down to the immortality of its owner and good luck when making a bet.

How to take care of the mineral

In the work of professional craftsmen, the processing of mother-of-pearl is simple and resembles that of ivory. The stone is light, so it is convenient to cut it with a jewelry file or an ordinary jigsaw.

When processing mother-of-pearl plates, use a fan, because the material crumbles into fine dust, harmful to health, and when cut and polished, it emits a very unpleasant odor.

Modern jewelers of the East have learned to dilute the natural color of the stone through chemical etching and artificial washing out of color. Adding potassium permanganate, ammonia and even gelatin to its natural composition will lead to a color change, so red mother-of-pearl is born.

When using finished mother-of-pearl products, they should be periodically polished, which will preserve the natural luster of the stone. This is especially true for colored stones, which require more scrupulous care. Among other things, yellow mother-of-pearl does not like contact with excessive heat. Since the stone contains water, its periodic evaporation is fraught with the appearance of cracks and dull spots on the surface of the mineral.

The most expensive stones in the world (video)

The world of mother-of-pearl is really fragile and elegant, and, having discovered it for himself, a simple man in the street will want to live inside this world, enjoying the magic of color and the mystery of warmth and beauty emanating from the mineral.

Attention, only TODAY!

Yuri Polyakov.

Open the sink.

Open the shell (work with mother-of-pearl)

Hard-shell mollusks of the most bizarre forms can be found in any river or lake, not to mention the seas and oceans, where their varieties number in the thousands. Although plastics and other materials have replaced shells, they have not lost their importance in applied arts even now.

Under the outer dark brown-greenish shell of the sash, there is an amazing decorative material - mother of pearl. In terms of strength, it is not inferior to ornamental stones, and in terms of beauty, an exquisite combination of various opalescent pale blue, pink, red-orange, even black shades, it has no equal. No wonder mother-of-pearl in translation from German means "mother of pearls."

You can collect the shells of dead mollusks along the shores of the seas and rivers. Many of them have already been cleaned by water, sun and wind. Of course, there are also broken ones, but for many crafts this does not matter. True, if the shells have been out of the water for a long time, they have become brittle, faded and are not suitable for work. This is especially true of such thin-walled shells as the river toothless or sea mussel. For this reason, they are never dried in the sun if they are to be kept whole.

There are also those that need to be cleaned of lime coatings and plants that have grown on their surface. Beautiful and rare shells, as a rule, are used entirely in crafts. Copies with chips or broken serve as materials for carving, inlay, collages.

Dirt is scraped off the outer surface with metal brushes or a knife, lime residues are removed with a brush dipped in a 15% hydrochloric acid solution. It is useful to recall the safety rules when working with acids. Work should be done in a well-ventilated area. After wetting the product, rinse thoroughly under running water and clean with a wire brush. Repeat the operation several times until complete cleaning.

So the shells are cleaned. Peel off the outer layer (this applies to mother-of-pearl shells). Peel off with files or on an emery wheel, gradually moving from a coarser tool to a thin, finishing one. The next operation is getting blanks. To do this, the shells are cut into pieces with a hacksaw. If their configuration is complex, use a special jigsaw (see Fig. 1). After that, give the desired shape with a file or on an emery wheel. Clean the edges of the workpiece with needle files. Next, sand the surfaces with sandpaper with a grain size of 100 to 20 microns and polish with polishing pastes on a felt or flannel wheel. Please note that GOI paste is very eaten into the surface and it is difficult to remove it later. Therefore, it is better to use a paste made from wax with the addition of tooth powder.

Sometimes a hole needs to be drilled in the sink. Its material is easily amenable to conventional metal drills, even by hand. For these purposes, you can make a simple device, shown in Figure 2. In a wooden handle with an awl, pre-pierce a hole whose diameter is slightly smaller than the diameter of the drill. With light strokes or just pressure, the drill is firmly inserted into the handle.

A homemade drill made from a microelectric motor taken from a broken toy is very convenient for drilling. Having fixed a grinding stick on the shaft, it is convenient to use it when grinding hard-to-reach places, which is especially necessary in openwork carving. In some cases, it is necessary to glue blanks from shells with metal, stone, wood and other materials. The best glue is PVA, traces of it after drying are almost invisible. For greater strength, gypsum is added in small portions to the glue and, stirring, is brought to a creamy slurry. The surfaces to be bonded must be treated with coarse sandpaper. Gypsum can also be added to other adhesives, such as Moment.

And now we will tell you what types of work can be carried out with prepared sinks.

Engraving
It is preceded by drawing a pattern on the prepared surface of the workpiece from the shell. For a novice engraver, the easiest way to transfer a design is through carbon paper. To keep the lines clear and not smeared during work, they must be fixed with a varnish film. You can apply the pattern first on paper, then stick it with rubber glue on the sink. After adding glue, the pattern is pricked with dots. Remains of glue are removed from the holes with a swab dipped in gasoline, and ink is rubbed with it. Then the paper is removed, the dots are connected with lines using an engraving needle or claw, shown in Figure 3. The engraving is often tinted with ordinary colored pencils. This operation begins with the fact that the contour lines are outlined with a black pencil, after which they wipe the surface with a damp cloth. Pencil marks remain visible only along the contour line. Next, the inside of the drawing is scraped with a small chisel with a fine notch. The density of the color in the engraved drawing depends on the frequency of the notch. Powdered dyes can also be rubbed in. It is more convenient to carry out engraving on a special device resembling a fungus (see Fig. 4). It is cut from dense oak or beech wood. Using mastic, the workpiece is glued to the fungus. Mastic is prepared on the basis of an acetone-soluble adhesive (for example, BF-4), with the addition of chalk or tooth powder until a pasty mass is obtained. The disadvantage of this mastic is the lengthy drying of the glued workpiece. It is also inconvenient that, after engraving, the workpiece is separated from the fungus with acetone. Therefore, it is better to use gray plasticine. True, when working with a drill, it warms up and loses strength.

During operation, the fungus is held in the left hand, the hat is rested against the stop bed, and the engraving tool or cutter is clamped in the right hand.

Engraving tools (cutters, chisels) are easiest to make from fragments of needle files, taps, drills.

Thread
The same tools are used here as for engraving. Only openwork carving requires a special device that is used when sawing with a jigsaw. The tool for this type of work and the technique of its use are somewhat different from carving on other materials. This is explained by the layering of mother-of-pearl shells. In order not to disrupt the layer, the thread is carried out by scraping. The main tool in the work is a trihedral scraper. The tool is sharpened as shown in Figure 5. Usually it is prepared in 2-3 pieces of different diameters from 1.5 to 6 mm. A sharpened scraper is inserted into a handle made according to the hand. Then you will be less tired. The tool can be used for all types of shell carving: relief, three-dimensional, contour, geometric, smooth with coloring and the most complex openwork or, as it is also called, carving on the opening. Carving differs from engraving in a more convex image. After drawing the drawing, the contours of the image should be trimmed. First, all contour lines and borders are deepened, and then the drawing is cut from the side, separating it from the background. The tool in this case passes to the right or left of the drawing line. Surrounding the image with a deep groove, then remove several layers from the background. At this stage of work, you can use needle files, files, oblique knives and chisels. With openwork carving, first, drilling and sawing through holes are carried out using a drill and a jigsaw, and only after that the workpiece is fixed to the fungus. It must be remembered that the dignity of the material is revealed more fully if the image is successfully combined with the color transitions of the crystal structure of the shell.

The work is completed by grinding with fine sandpaper and grinding sticks (see Fig. 6). Final finishing - polishing with flannel.

Toning
Toning the sink helps to enhance the perception of the natural virtues of the material. The simplest technique is matting. In this case, the recesses are left matte, and the convex image is polished to a pearly sheen. The transition from glossy to matte expressively emphasizes the volume of the image.

Another technique is the action of chemical reagents on the organic basis of the shell. It is used more often for mother-of-pearl shells. First, they are kept for 3 days in a solution of silver nitrate (lapis) or potassium permanganate (potassium permanganate), and then dried in sunlight for several hours. With this method of toning, the choice of colors is limited to gray, brown or black. It is also necessary to take into account the natural tones of the color of the shells, then the color scheme can be somewhat expanded - to get gray-blue, brown-orange shades.

Another method of tinting finished mother-of-pearl products is the use of aniline dyes. Practice has shown that it is preferable to use dyes for woolen fabrics. They adhere better to mother-of-pearl and are more resistant to fading. We advise you to use colors that are close to natural, found on shells - orange, blue, green, black. The solution is prepared according to the recipe indicated on the package. Before taking on the coloring of the finished product, test the dye on samples. With their help, it is easier to choose the required dosage and staining time.

Mother-of-pearl products to be dyed are treated with a 3-5% solution of acetic acid, and then brought to a boil in a dye solution and cooled along with it. Coloring is carried out without boiling, keeping in the dye from 2 to 5 days. In this case, a little vinegar is added to the dye. Painted products are dried and polished. The advantage of aniline dyes is that they completely retain the natural opalescent luster of mother-of-pearl. To paint the product not completely, but selectively, it is necessary to varnish the parts that are not subject to tinting. After staining, it is removed with a swab dipped in acetone.

Painting on mother-of-pearl
In addition to tinting mother-of-pearl products, there is a tonal painting of shells that is most interesting for visual perception.

Its secret lies in the fact that the dye, as it were, penetrates into the very structure of the shell. Dry coloring pigment is diluted in a solution of acetic acid. Vinegar, impregnating and simultaneously dissolving the calcium of the shell, promotes the penetration of the dye into the structure of the mother-of-pearl. This work is delicate and requires exceptional attention. The drawing obtained by the engraving method is impregnated with a dye of dark tones with a thin watercolor brush. The paint must be allowed to soak in, dry, and then wash off random stains under running water. The product is wiped dry and polished again to finally remove unnecessary dye stains that have had time to be absorbed. Further painting of the background surfaces is carried out with a large brush. The paint is evenly applied to the sink, give time to dry. Then the product is washed under running water. If the tone is not sufficiently saturated, the operation is repeated. If you want to lighten the tone, the sink is slightly polished. In addition to aniline dyes, you can use watercolor pigments, diluting them with acetic acid at a concentration of not more than 20%. In weakly concentrated dye solutions, the tones are less saturated. We do not recommend using high concentrations - they are harmful to health.

Shell mosaic
As a rule, it is performed on the basis of canvas, plywood or hardboard. If the work is being done on canvas, a stretcher is prepared, a canvas is stretched over it, previously glued with fish glue or PVA glue. The composition of the shells is first laid out on canvas according to a pattern applied with finely sharpened charcoal. Each sink is carefully coated with PVA glue and tightly laid in place. In compositions, shells are used both whole and broken. It is permissible to use shells from various types of mollusks. Shells with stones and corals look beautiful.

Whole shells and their trimmings can sometimes be shaped with a file or wire cutters.

One example of composing a mosaic of shells is shown in the figure. Peel-offs from shells on plywood, hardboard or board tinted with black varnish look peculiar and interesting. The most common river ponds, coils, toothless and sea scallops, mussels and oysters can also be used here.

The surface of the board is carefully sanded, and then covered with 2-3 layers of black varnish. Suitable and bituminous varnish. If you use hardboard as a base, think about which of its sides will become the front, because one side is embossed, the other is smooth. The surface of this material is best tinted with water-based paint with the addition of gouache.

The execution of mother-of-pearl mosaics is close in technique to the Florentine stone mosaic, only the range of mother-of-pearl, although more delicate, does not have such a variety of colors.

Recently, artists have begun to work more often in the so-called cloisonne typesetting technique. Its essence lies in the fact that between the pieces of shells of various configurations, a metal wire or a black-tinted paste is laid, which, when dried, forms, as it were, partitions. Pasta is prepared as follows. Take PVA glue, cement or gypsum and soot. Everything is thoroughly mixed and applied to the base in a thin layer. Not allowing the paste to harden, pre-prepared polished pieces of mother-of-pearl are quickly laid on it and fixed.

OCR Roschupkin Maxim

In the arts and crafts of Russian artisans, mother-of-pearl was used quite widely. This is jewelry, interior decoration, weapons, caskets and utensils. Buttons, buckles, combs, various inserts were made from it.

Mother-of-pearl was also used in the treatment of patients, often endowing it with magical properties. A powder was made from the mother-of-pearl layer of the shell, which was used to make creams, ointments, and tinctures. All these drugs were supposed to restore youth, give strength and health.

In a special way, chemically treated mother-of-pearl is used in cosmetics even now.

Mother of pearl inlay

Since ancient times, mother-of-pearl has been used for inlaying various household items and making jewelry. Mother-of-pearl has long been used to make carvings and cut stones.

Russian masters use it to decorate in a way. Mother-of-pearl plates are used for painting caskets. Lacquer miniature painting comes to life, glows from within, when it is made on a mother-of-pearl background.

Mother-of-pearl mosaic is also used when pieces of the shell are cut, and then the pattern is laid out. This can be the decoration of furniture, jewelry boxes, walls, or decor on weapons and clothing items.

Mother-of-pearl goes well with both silver and organic stones, as well as ornamental ones.

The keys of musical instruments and much more are made from this beautiful material.

Description

Mother-of-pearl consists of hexagonal plates of aragonite (crystals of calcium carbonate CaCO 3) 10-20 microns in width and half a micron in thickness, arranged in parallel layers. These layers are separated by sheets of an organic matrix composed of elastic biopolymers such as chitin, lustrin, and silk-like proteins.

Light passing along the axis of one of the crystals is reflected and refracted by other crystals, creating a rainbow effect. This can also be explained by the fact that the thickness of aragonite crystals is comparable to the wavelength of visible light and therefore light of different wavelengths experiences numerous and varied interference, resulting in different colors depending on the viewing angle.

Mining

The main places for the extraction of mother-of-pearl shells are the Persian Gulf, the Red Sea, Ceylon, Japan, Borneo and the Philippines, and some tropical islands of the Pacific Ocean. Often these shells are a by-product of the production of cultured pearls.

In Russia, it was mainly conducted in the North. Now this fishery is practically reduced to zero due to the violation of mining methods. River mussels were not left with clean running waters where they could breed.

Now all hope for the revival of fishing in Russia is only on "pearl farms", where conditions are artificially created for the reproduction and growth of pearl mollusks.

Photo gallery

Helpful information

Mother of pearl - from him. Perlmutter - "mother of pearls"

Nacre

The inner layer of shells of freshwater and marine mollusks is an organic-inorganic composite of natural origin. Pearls and mother-of-pearl have almost the same composition.

The Massachusetts Institute has long been interested in the unique properties of this natural substance.

It turns out that on the basis of mother-of-pearl it is possible to create heavy-duty clothing that does not let bullets through, and at the same time, it can be “taught” to detect dangers and so on.

Not surprisingly, the military immediately became interested in such discoveries.

The substance that mother-of-pearl is made of is the most durable on Earth.

Based on knowledge about the features of mother-of-pearl, it is possible to create artificial bone tissue, heavy-duty parts, and so on.

Bleak and oriental essence

There is such a fish - bleak, or it is also popularly called a silyavka. It is not considered particularly valuable, often this small fish is used for bait.

But it turns out that it was her scales that became the basis for creating artificial mother-of-pearl. Small scales on the back are scraped off and insisted until a silvery coating crumbles from them.

This method was invented - according to some sources in France, in the 17th century, according to others - in China and was called "oriental (or pearl) essence." A heavy, shiny suspension of scale color and water is mixed with gelatin and can be used to fake mother-of-pearl.

Plates of crystals refract light rays, thanks to this optical effect mother-of-pearl has different shades of color - from white to almost black. Shells with high-quality mother-of-pearl live in warm tropical seas: in the Persian Gulf. Red Sea, near Ceylon and the Pacific Islands. Mother-of-pearl is supplied to the world market by Japan and the Philippines. A beautiful dark mother-of-pearl is given by the shells of the abalone haliotis (Haliotis). White mother-of-pearl comes from the shells of the Indian sea pearl oyster (Meleagrinamargaritifera), which reaches a diameter of 10 cm.

In India, Japan and China, mother-of-pearl products were known as early as 2500 BC. In ancient Egypt, beauties wore mother-of-pearl earrings, bracelets, necklaces, which set off their swarthy skin very favorably, giving mystery and charm to their iridescent brilliance. Only in the Middle Ages mother-of-pearl came to Western Europe. Things made of mother-of-pearl were brought from India through Portugal, they only got to very rich people - kings and their courtiers.

Previously, for jewelry and other works of art in the East, mother-of-pearl inlay vases, paintings, panels were widely used, while shells remaining after pearl mining were used. Now, shellfish are caught for mother-of-pearl, the profit from which is much higher than from pearling.

Mother of pearl use in the manufacture of jewelry, souvenirs, buttons, cosmetics and many other areas. Lacquer miniatures and caskets made by Fedoskino craftsmen using mother-of-pearl are not only famous, but still enjoy indispensable success. Many beautiful souvenirs and crafts can be made using mother-of-pearl powder for decoration. A very long time ago, until the 18th century, mother-of-pearl and pearls, ground into powder, could be bought at any medieval pharmacy, it was believed that they could help with all kinds of diseases.

It turns out that in order to obtain mother-of-pearl powder, it is not necessary to look for suitable mollusk shells, it can be obtained at home from fish scales, while it will be of natural origin. In the scales of some fish, guanine is present, from which a pearlescent pigment is obtained, which was previously used in cosmetics. Currently, it is rarely used in cosmetics, replacing it with synthetic pigments (bismuth oxychloride, etc.).

You can get mother-of-pearl powder from the scales of various fish, in particular, the scales of bleak, Ivasi, carp are suitable for this purpose. It is known, for example, that the so-called pearl or oriental essence was previously extracted from bleak scales.

Technology for obtaining mother-of-pearl powder :
The scales scraped off (with a blunt knife) are placed in a glass jar. Water is added and stirred with a mixer until a silver chaff remains on the scales, which separates in the form of small crystalline plates and falls to the bottom of the vessel. Then the contents are filtered through a fine strainer into another bowl. When the powder settles, the water should be carefully drained, trying not to drain the mother-of-pearl. It remains only to dry, and the powder will be ready.
To speed up the process, it is often advised to add a little acetone after draining the water and let it settle again. When the powder settles, the acetone must be drained, and the precipitate poured into a wide dish (plate) and placed in a well-ventilated room until the acetone has completely evaporated. Mother-of-pearl plates can also be obtained from fish scales and used for various products. True, the powder will not be enough: from the scales of 3-4 kg of fish, you can get 1-2 g of mother-of-pearl powder. The pearlescent powder mixed into the paint gives the paint an amazing iridescent sheen.

There is another method of obtaining mother-of-pearl powder - unnatural . Barium thiosulfate is used to obtain mother-of-pearl powder. Crystals of this substance, mixed with some colorless varnish, turn it into a "pearl". If, however, they are introduced into gelatin or carpentry glue and a layer is applied to wood, cardboard or papier-mâché products, then a complete imitation of mother-of-pearl can be achieved.

Sometimes for making souvenirs, crafts are needed mother-of-pearl plates . To imitate mother-of-pearl plates, a light bone glue solution is first prepared, poured into molds and sprinkled with magnesium sulfate. On the resulting layer of crystallized salt, a mixture of small silvery fish scales with a glue solution is applied with a soft brush. From above, everything is covered with a solution of gelatin and pressed with a load.

Products from natural mother-of-pearl :
Mother-of-pearl powder can be used for making souvenirs, in finishing work, mixing it in a small amount into the paint, and various decorations can be made from the plates, cut out and made into small jewelry boxes. Artificial mother-of-pearl goes well with wood, bone.

Costs for the production of natural mother-of-pearl will be small, because the purchased fish can be eaten, and your income will depend only on your imagination and diligence.

Recommendations :
Mother-of-pearl can be used to make your own products, or it can be offered in the form of powder and plates to those involved in the manufacture of souvenirs and restorers. Making souvenirs is better to coincide with some holiday, say, March 8, the New Year. Organize the implementation through souvenir departments, retail outlets in the market, art shops.

Profitability :