Plata NM

The story

I make everything from scratch.

I enjoy it very much. There’s something about working with silver and gold that, I don’t know, I just feel fulfilled.

Silver pendant resting in an open hand

I make the molds. Then I cast the mold in plaster — investment plaster — and I cast the silver or the gold into what that plaster gives me. Break it out. Clean it. Finish it. That’s the whole shop.

A crucible of molten silver lifted out of the furnace

I’m trying to make a name for myself. Plata NM is the name. The bench is in Albuquerque.

The raw back of a silver cast, still showing the work

I choose to make objects of rage and objects soft and pure. I guess you could say I’m a full range artist, strumming the chords of your soul.

Some pieces snarl. Some stay quiet. They all start the same way: a mold I made, plaster, and metal I poured.

Steve Ballejos