Artists in Residence: Carving Out a Passion

Most technicians look at a zirconia blank and see a potential restoration, but Biljana Ramova sees a graceful swan, a playful seahorse or a sturdy elephant. “After zirconia blanks are milled, the excess is just garbage,” she explains. “I thought something beautiful could come from that waste.”

To make the most of the leftovers, Ramova, a technician in Skopje, Macedonia, carves intricate sculptures from pre-sintered zirconia that’s soft and easy to manipulate using a micro-motor and milling bur. The size and shape of the leftover material determines what she can transform it into.

Using photos of her subjects as a guide, each sculpture takes about an hour to carve and ranges from about 1/3" to 1". For the base color, she uses Colour Liquid Prettau from Zirkonzahn, sinters, then uses ICE Zirkon Stains Prettau to add brighter colors and more details and then sinters them once more.

Ramova’s favorite subjects are animals; here are some of her creations.