Latest Jewelry Creations

We have had a lot of people in the shop recently but I've managed to make a few things to replace those pieces that have found a new home.

My daughter Lisa recently sent me some silver plate bezels and one was almost a perfect fit for a really nice piece of moss agate I had already finished. Since I felt it would work best with silver, it became the perfect marriage.

This piece is already spoken for but my other project is the first of a small series I intend to complete this summer. I live in a very unique place, a small strip of land in south west Nova Scotia called Digby Neck. It is formed from a ridge of basalt which has beautiful seams of agate, jasper, carnelian, amethyst- you name it. It is made up of three parts- Briar Island, Long Island and "the mainland" and, since shear faults in the basalt have created passage ways, you must take 2 ferries to get to the end.
 Some time ago, we found a small, irregular seam of fortification agate, surrounded by basalt on both sides. Seemed like the perfect metaphor for the area so I had to try to express it in a pendant and here's the result.

I used sterling silver wire to wrap it at the points where the ferries are located and the proportions are pretty accurate. Since the agate is fortification, up close it looks like a topographical map. I hung it on a black buna cord with sterling silver findings.

I'm pretty happy with this result so will start the next one which I intend to do horizontally so stay tuned for more pics! And if you want to see this one in person, along with a lot of other unique pieces, stop by the shop!

Cheers!

Back To The Grind

Things are slowly starting to return to what passes around here for "normal" in the wake of my geologist friend Ted's return to Australia. It's amazing but it takes someone visiting to get us to explore our immediate surroundings. For instance, we made our first visit to Delaps Cove. What a beautiful and interesting spot. Here's a shot of the senior citizens:

Yes, I know my pants are dirty. They get that way when you are hunting the elusive Bay of Fundy Agate.

But now my nose (actually finger tip) is pressed to the grindstone and I am also trying to cut some of the great stuff Vickie has brought home recently. Here is a really nice dense piece that took me for ever to cut, especially since I had to do it "free style" without a flat base.

I see some very small fractures but there is some beautiful patterning and colour. In addition, my daughter Lisa sent me a large stash of silver plate bezels and one of my finished stones fit perfectly. Ordinarily I work with local rock but when you get a chance to work with something this nice, you grab it!

This spectacular piece of Moss Agate is about an inch square and the wire in back is there to help remove the stone so it can be glued into the bezel so it will disappear by the end of the day. I also have some really nice bracelet bezels to work with and that might be my next project.

So the bare spots in the shop are gradually filling back up. It has been an amazing season to date and we expect it to continue through the fall. Come and see us in September, when our weather is at its absolute best.
Cheers!

Getting To Know The Neck

Often people come into the shop and ask about restaurants or interesting places to visit so I thought today I'd discuss a few.
First- a great place to eat!
Just a little further out the Neck, in Sandy Cove, is the Schoolhouse Cafe.

I had lunch there today and found what everyone else has- the food is fantastic! I had a fresh tomato and cheese pannini and my wife, who has Celiac Disease had the gluten free chowder as did our guest. Everything was wonderful and absolutely fresh.

The menu is short and simple and changes depending on what is fresh but if you go to their facebook page, you can see the menu for that day. Don't leave without trying a cinnamon bun!

They even have a large map of part of the neck which shows places of interest- including our shop!
Check their facebook page for hours and make the time for a meal. You won't regret it!

Now about interesting places and things to do.
Digby and Digby Neck, are fascinating places to visit. But how can a visitor know about all the interesting coves, beaches, walking trails etc.? And how can they know about the teeming life in a tidal pool?
Easy!
You contact Greg Turner (no relation I swear) at Gael Tours! Greg knows EVERYTHING about our area and can take you and your family on an adventure that will even get your teen off their phones!

Check out Greg and The Schoolhouse Cafe and get the most out of your Digby Vacation
And don't forget to visit us at The Artist's Mark!

A Lapidary Convert?

Currently, my friend Ted is visiting from Sydney Australia. Ted is also a geologist, in fact, we went through McGill together.

My objective on this trip was to get him working in the rock lab and I have succeeded beyond my wildest dreams! Best of all, he works for beer! And even better, HE BUYS THE BEER!

Ted's weapon of choice is my Hi-Tech 8 inch slant lap. Here we are suiting up for battle in the rock lab.

Note that I graciously let Ted wear my Hi-Tech apron. Now we're getting serious.

And now Ted is totally immersed in his grinding efforts.

I must say, he did really well, taking several pieces from 100 grit right through to final polish. And while he was doing that, I was cutting some of our recent finds. I'm pretty lousy at rockhoundind what with my artificial hip and all but between Ted and "She with the agate eye" we have come home with some pretty nice stuff! Here's a little sample straight off the saw:

The shop has been super busy of late with a lot of European visitors and many of my pendants have left for new homes so with the weather being a little punky today, I'm working on some new stuff and will try to post pics when finished. Also, I have a load coming out of the tumbler tomorrow and will follow that up with an absolutely spectacular load of mostly crazy lace.

So if you are in the neighbourhood, drop on by and see what's new.

Cheers!

This has been a super busy week at the shop, with several pendants going to new homes. Today it is raining heavily so it's a perfect time to catch up on filling a few holes in the inventory.

First off, I have to tell you about my new venture- stone guitar picks!

To date, I've made about 25, using different types of local agate and jasper and I've sold about 5 or 6. The picks themselves have to be very thin (2 mm) which has resulted in my two index fingers becoming a little shorter and a certain amount of blood loss but it has been a lot of fun. We came up with a design for a simple leather pouch which, I am proud to say, I've done by myself, including the cutting, drilling and sewing. Best of all, we are using all re-purposed leather. I sell them with the pouch for $35 and if it keeps up like this, I'll be making a ton more!

Sewing all these leather pouches gave me an idea for a pendant design and we cranked out our first effort today.

Sorry for the pic. The leather is actually black and the stone is a gorgeous orange/ brown slice of carnelian. I'm looking for feedback on this before I make more but it certainly is "unique"! We are thinking of calling the line "Biker Chic". Any thoughts?

The last piece is a slice of petrified wood that has a small pyrite cube in the upper right hand corner (just visible in this pic) and a lot of visible cell structure.

Again, it is a truly unique piece featuring a beautiful local stone. The last two pieces will be available in the shop for $50 each.

We also just restocked the yarn shelves with recently hand dyed yarn so if you are a knitter, check out Seawall Fibres on Etsy and Ravelry.

Hope to see you soon.

Cheers!