Why I Create Mitsuro Jewelry

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“Why did you choose the mitsuro technique and jewelry as your primary art medium?” This was a question a friend asked me recently.

The simple answer is because I found a passion and connection for creating with the medium.

The long answer starts back when I was a student at the University of Hawai’i at Manoa studying Studio Art. I decided to step out of my comfort zone, which was primarily 2D painting/drawing mediums at the time, and take a small scale sculpture class. This course was taught by Fred Roster and he encouraged us to create jewelry as sculpture if we wanted to.

The idea of using jewelry as a sculptural art medium really resonated with me. Being able to wear and take my art with me felt like a very accessible way to share my work with other people.

(Plus, jewelry size sculptures fit in my college apartment way easier than large paintings and full-sized sculptures!)

Rustic Bronze art coin carved with a face on one side and a swirl with the letter H in the center carved on the other side.
My very first lost wax casting!
2008 Coin Design Project, Small Scale Sculpture, University of Hawai’i at Manoa.
Left is the front and the right is the back of the design.

One of the sections in our class focused on metal casting. For our first castings, we had to create a coin design in wax and then cast it into bronze. The casting process requires you to put your wax model into a mold, burn the wax out of the mold in a kiln, take the hot mold out of the kiln and immediately fill it with molten metal.

Lost Wax Casting

I became fascinated with taking solid metal,
turning it liquid, and making it look like anything I wanted it to.

Heather Scott holding a lit torch with hoses that is melting metal in a crucible in a centrifuge for lost wax casting.
Heather Scott casting at the University of Hawai’i at Manoa
2008/2009

Mitsuro Final Project

For my final project I had to choose a technique to research and create pieces with it. When looking through books in Fred’s office, I came across a book with the Mitsuro technique in it. The book was translated from Japanese so there were words that didn’t quite make sense in context to what was being explained.

I took the book to Fred and told him that the technique had qualities that really resonated with my artistic style and asked him if he could help me learn it. He said “I don’t know what that is. Hopefully I don’t have to fail you at the end of the semester.” I said “Oh, maybe I should pick something else for my project…” He said, “No, you already said that it’s speaking to you. You need to figure it out. I won’t allow you to change your project.”

Heather Scott's hand holding a cooled piece of mitsuro wax that is a few inches long by a few inches long. She is holding it over a stove top that is off.
Heather Scott’s first batch of useable mitsuro wax created in her college apartment in Honolulu 2008!

And you know what, he was right in pushing me to figure it out because in the journey I fell more in love with the process. I was curious and determined. After countless batches of differing wax concoctions I figured out a usable mitsuro wax recipe that created the properties that I desired in the wax so that I could create pieces for my final project.

Heather Scott's hand holding a piece of mitsuro wax that is swirled an tapered into a long pendant design.
Heather Scott’s first mitsuro wax design, 2008.

After college I continued working with it because it’s what feels natural to me. It’s not a carving wax. Instead, the wax is manipulated and shaped with my hands. I love holding the medium, making it do new things, and refining it into my own style. After 15 years of working with it, I still find the same joy when creating with mitsuro.  

A bronze spike swirl pendant and a silver ring with a wave featured on the front. Both pieces have the desired mitsuro linear textures throughout their designs.
Heather Scott’s first pendant and ring using the mitsuro technique in 2008.
The pendant is cast in bronze and is her first mitsuro piece she ever made.
The ring is cast in sterling silver and is her first silver mitsuro piece she made.

To follow more of my journey with mitsuro follow me on Instagram and Facebook!

To see my most recent rings based on the design of my very first mitsuro ring, visit my shop page!