Gerosha Stone Ornaments

Gerosha Stone Ornaments are a highly stylized type of ornament, first developed in 2019, that encapsulate the color scheme and spirit of The Gerosha Chronicles by way of having replicas or near-replicas of the Gerosha Stone encased inside them.

History
The real Gerosha Stone was discovered at Cocoa Beach in Florida. It is a brittle, heavily damaged, "left-handed," deformed half-shell; the remains of a French scallop that fell prey to a lightning whelk and an oyster drill. The stone has remained essential to Gerosha mythos ever since its 2008 discovery.

In 2019, however, attempts were made to produce a replica of it. Most of these early attempts were horribly unsuccessful, though one crafter's clay sculpt did manage to come fairly close to resembling the real seashell. After it was baked and painted to resemble the seashell's coloration better, the fake seashell then was offered to anyone from the cast of Girls Incarcerated who could best offer the most useful information regarding what sort of life Candi Flippo would most likely have had day-to-day inside Madison Juvenile during the events in Ciem: Inferno and Ciem: Ash Cloud.

The offer was extended to the entire cast, including correction officers, to receive this Gerosha Stone replica. Yet, the only individuals to even come close to responding, let alone offering useful information, were Brianna Guerra and Paige McAtee. Arionna Davis nearly took over portraying Candi on the Dozerfleet Database, but got cold feet in the end. She also offered no useful info. Aubrey Wilson and Leeaira Stokes were also contacted, but neither offered any useful info.

The fake seashell was then put inside an ornament, and was offered to Brianna as a thank-you gift. However, she never offered a useful address to send the ornament to. As such, it still resides in Dozerfleet Labs storage. The real seashell is kept hidden, and protected.

In March of 2021, a second attempt was made at a Gerosha Stone ornament. However, problems with the resin ensured that future versions would be made with a special sealant and with snowglobe fluid, rather than with resin.

Seashell
A home make will require, at minimum:


 * Sculpey ® III oven bake clay
 * Paint
 * Sheet pan
 * Oven
 * Wax paper and / or cooking spray
 * Toothpicks
 * Toothpicks

You'll be using your desk surface (and possibly a cutting board) to mold and bend your clay. Having tiny fingers may help with precision. Toothpicks will be used for carving grooves in the basic-molded shape. The end result doesn't need to be a perfect match; but should bear a strong resemblance. The lightning whelk letter G is of key importance.

Check your temperature for baking, and your oven's individual settings. Normal instructions call for baking for a half-hour; but you may be able to get away with baking for only 25 minutes.

The paint should be for restoring the seashell's coloration, in case you burn your model. Ideally, you won't need it.

Using seashells supplied at most Hobby Lobby stores, mix with clay to soften the ridges, and to add a lightning whelk etch, to create the "G" insignia. Bake for 15 minutes at 175 degrees F. Use paint to create a blend effect, and give your seashell a gradient similar to the real shell.

More professional methods
It may be possible, if one can secure a scan of the original seashell, to 3D print a Gerosha Stone cast. From this template, endless Gerosha Stone knockoffs could be created as prints or molds. This would yield more professional results.

Ornament itself
For the ornament, you'll want:


 * Aqua-color glossy paint, in event that an aqua back isn't available
 * Cheap plastic ornament halves (Ideally, a package of clear and a package of aqua transparent, to eliminate the need for blue glaze)
 * Superglue
 * Clear boxing / scotch tape (for adding a label, and for sealing after dipping and merging)
 * Scissors
 * Blue glaze for internal backing (In a pinch, an aqua Sharpie will suffice, but remember to smear it around.)
 * Sand dough
 * Clean beach sand


 * For a solid ornament:
 * QuickWater for Silks ™ (usually available at Michael's)
 * Note: Other resins may work; but will be much more hazardous to work with, and require more protection from sunlight.


 * For a fluid ornament:
 * Snow globe fluid
 * This won't cure inside; but is chemically safer / produces less-noxious fumes.
 * Requires extra sealing work on the ornament once the halves are merged, to prevent leaks.
 * Corn syrup may be used as a substitute for glycol, if chemical leaks are a cause for concern.


 * Small salad bowl
 * Must be tall enough to allow for total submersion, but wide enough you can fit your hands in.
 * A Tupperware container will also work, provided it's wide enough and tall enough.
 * The bulb must not have air trapped inside, or the experiment will not yield ideal results.

A real seashell or solid 3D print, with clay only used as prosthetic makeup on a real seashell, is required for the liquid snowglobe bulb method, as snowglobe fluid will eventually destroy a fully-clay replica.


 * Gloves
 * Access to a sink
 * Garbage can with liner


 * Optional: supplies for a light-up ornament
 * Will require a special process and materials to make work with the liquid bulb. Process below is for solid bulbs:
 * Drill
 * White LED Christmas light with power attachment for wreath
 * Scotch or electrical tape

Process

 * 1) You'll want to start with adding glaze to the interior of your inner side of your back end of the ornament.
 * 2) * If you have an aqua ornament half, then you can skip this step.
 * 3) Next, your ornament back's exterior will need to be painted with the aqua paint.
 * 4) * Once that's dried, make your sand dough. Stick your seashell in the salt dough, after determining an amount that will fit on the ornament bottom and will hold the seashell. Use the ornament bottom itself to mold your dough's shape.
 * 5) * Upon achieving a decent shape that will also support the seashell, cut the sand dough sculpture in half. Bake the halves for a few minutes, to harden your dough. Probably not for very long. Make sure the temperature set won't produce toxic fumes, and that you use non-toxic chemicals to begin with.
 * 6) Next, you'll want to use superglue to bind your sand dough to your ornament half bottoms. You'll also use superglue to bind your seashell to the bottom back, in the groove you created by pressing your seashell into the dough before you hardened it.

QuickWater method
Once you secure a sturdy structure, it's time to add the QuickWater. Load up your salad bowl with enough mixture to fully submerge your ornament halves. You may need two boxes' worth of mixture.

Very slowly, submerge your back ornament piece into place beneath the QuickWater, filling up the entire interior. You'll proceed with doing the same to your front half, and then very slowly merge the two together. Once they're together, you'll slowly ascend your ornament out of the mixture, and then rinse off the exterior of it to remove excess mixture from the exterior. Be careful not to knock anything out of position, but hold the ornament upright while rinsing. Don't shake it, or subject it to any unnecessary sudden motion.

Set your ornament aside somewhere, so that it can settle. The QuickWater may take up to 20 hours to harden completely. In the mean time, discard any excess QuickWater into a garbage can bag. Use water to clean out the salad bowl completely, leaving no resin behind. Throw away the gloves you were using, unless you can get all resin off of said gloves.

With your workspace mostly cleared, return to the ornament upon drying. You'll want to apply superglue to the ornament seams, along with scotch tape or clear moving tape.

Once your ornament is solid all the way around, and the parts inside are firmly stationary, you may then proceed to drill a hole in the bottom from behind the seashell for the light - if you wish to include one.

Snowglobe fluid method
After securing the Gerosha Stone replica and its base to the back half of your ornament bulb, add a quarter-bulb's worth of sand behind the seashell. Submerge the ornament halves in snowglobe fluid slowly, being careful not to loose any sand. Close the ornament, trying to leave no or very little air inside. Once the ornament is closed with all ingredients inside, make haste to seal the rim shut, preventing any leaks of fluid out of the ornament. Let the sealant dry and secure after rinsing off the ornament exterior of excess fluid.

Pricing
To be profitable, Dozerfleet Labs must charge a minimum of $80 per order for a Gerosha Stone. Order fulfillment pursuit is subject to material availability. The blog lists that arrangements must currently only be made by personal e-mail, to establish 2-way correspondence. Dozerfleet doesn't currently have an Esty or similar venue, nor a PayPal arrangement.