Ellie begins each piece by cutting the wood to size, flattening it, and removing all the bark and inclusions. She then lays the wood out in a mold, mixes a clear liquid resin with a hardener, and adds various pigments and mica powders for color and shimmer. She pours the resin into the mold and it fills in all the voids and cracks in the wood. As the resin thickens over about 30 hours, Ellie checks in frequently to add more colors and swirl in designs. After it’s fully cured and removed from the mold she moves on to the power tools and cuts, planes, sands, drills, and then sands some more – often up to 10,000 grit. Finally, a food safe oil and wax mixture is applied to add protection, bring out the grain of the wood, and add a satin finish to the resin.
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