A cameo is a miniature sculpture that may be made from a variety of materials. Most have striations of color, which allows for the natural contrast between foreground and background. Rainforest Design cameos are carved from the Queen's Helmet shell (cassis madagascariensis spinella), as seen below:
The outside of the shell is the softer carving surface, and the carver starts from the outside until he reaches the inside brown layer which is
hard like glass. Think of it like an Oreo cookie, taking away one side, leaving the soft white part the equivalent to the outside of the shell. As the artist carves through the white portion, eventually he reaches the dark brown part at the base.
Depending on the shell, the brown may be very very brown and graduate to a light beige. Other species of shells have a pink or peach color on the inside, however, the Queen's Helmet shell is considered to be the best because of its translucent properties and striking color contrast. Rainforest Design only uses the best!
