Community

Events & Workshops

Home

Learning Program Index

Meet the instructors

Search

Centre for Rare Arts and Forgotten Trades acknowledges the Wadawurrung people as the Traditional custodians of the land on which we operate. We pay our respects to their Elders past and present, and to all of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who live and work on Wadawurrung Country. We acknowledge their unceded sovereignty over Wadawurrung Country, and the ongoing hardship and trauma as a result of colonisation. The history and continuous culture of the Wadawurrung people is an important part of our shared story.

Australian Flags

We’re open during workshop hours to participants only.

Sign up to our mailing list to be the first to receive the latest news.

Rare Trades Centre05 11 22 23

Sign up to our mailing list to be the first to receive latest news.

Email Address

Your Name

Postcode

Phone (optional)

Which workshops are you interested in?

What is ‘Gutta Percha’?Gutta percha is derived from tree sap harvested throughout Indonesia and Malaysia and was traditionally used to produce a variety of objects. Soft when heated and hard when cooled, it proved more durable than rubber, then commonly used for insulation and medical casting, because it didn’t deteriorate in wet or extreme climatic conditions.Gutta percha is perhaps best known for its use in Victorian-era mourning jewellery, where its ability to be formed, cast, or carved, and its opaque blackness, aligned with the fashion for dark beauty.An industrial obsessionWhen first introduced to England in the mid-1800s, gutta percha was quickly embraced for industrial applications, including piping for water reticulation, manufacturing, safety equipment, medical tools, and insulation. It was also used in domestic and decorative objects such as daguerreotype and photograph frames, walking sticks, crockery, furnishings, and, as noted above, jewellery.Products, machinery, and miners’ safety equipment made from gutta percha were exported across the Western world and became a prominent feature of life on goldfields in places like Australia and America. Its use remained widespread into the early 20th century, before declining as World War One and World War Two limited access to quality raw material.Replaced, but not forgottenWhile still used in some areas of mining manufacture, gutta percha has largely been superseded by newer materials such as polyethylene and resins - but its legacy lives on. Explore its unique properties firsthand in a workshop hosted by Jen Crossley on 18 July.

Gutta Percha: The Dark Beauty

You might also be interested in

Leadlight Restoration Repairing a Life

Good Shoes Can Take You to Good Places

Pecha Kucha 07 Recap: REVEAL

Pecha Kucha 06 Recap: INTANGIBLE