Gail's Rocks

 Almost weekly, someone brings me a pile of rocks they have found and wants to know if they have found "treasure" and until recently, I have had to give them bad news.

But a few weeks ago, it finally happened. After seeing my shop, The Lap of Lapidary, my neighbour Gail, from whose farm we get our eggs, brought in a small peach basket with her "collection". Apparently, she has a spot somewhere on the Neck where she finds the most amazing small agates and jasper. I literally could not believe my eyes! Here's a small sample of what she brought.

I was so impressed, and she and her husband Frank are such good neighbours, I did something I NEVER do- I offered to tumble a load for her at no charge. Since they are on the small side, they are perfect for my tumbler and the results were spectacular.

A lot of these stones are so fresh and dense they look almost chert like and take a great polish.

Like Vickie, Gail is an artist and it's obvious she has the Artists/Agate Eye!

More proof that we have some of the most beautiful silicates in the world here on Digby Neck!

Lapidary Is Like A Box Of Chocolates!

 Since we have had steady rain here for the last few days, I decided to tackle the mound of interesting rock that She With The Agate Eye had found and wanted cut. (Hey, what can I say- she buys me new blades!). Several of the pieces were sagenite and plume agate, not my favourite but she loves 'em. Most were stuff I'd seen before but then I got to these two very pleasant surprises. Normally, the plume agate doesn't polish very well because the plume areas are a little soft but this one...well, see for yourself!

Not only is the patterning outstanding, it polished to an absolute glass finish. And the best part is that just below the glass surface in the clear areas, are crystal druzy pockets that cause the stone to sparkle as it moves. It is about 4 cm. in height. This is absolutely one of the most beautiful cabs I've ever made and I have three more pieces to work with. It demands a very special setting.

This next piece was from a rounded end cut and all I had to do was smooth it out a bit and define a shape.

Again, the patterning and colour are fantastic and it has polished to a glass finish when I went to 50K diamond paste. Vickie, who among about a thousand other talents is a very accomplished abstract artist, has "borrowed" this piece for inspiration.

This is why I love cutting rock because as Forrest Gump says, " You never know WHAT you're gonna get!"

The Value of Imperfection

 Perhaps it's been being married to an abstract artist but as I "create" more, I've come to see the value of imperfection. We live in a society where perfection is in high demand- a perfect diamond, perfect smile, perfect teeth, perfect skin- the list is endless. And while perfection may be beautiful (and expensive) imperfection intrigues me more because it's ...interesting. The stone I am currently working on is a "perfect" example.

I love working with agate but agate is never symmetrical and it's the impurities that create the amazing patterns and colour shifts. Without them it would be a bland piece of quartz. This stone is a highly imperfect local agate. If you look closely, you can see a fissure in the center where the crystals have grown together and there are areas of inclusions and impurities. But these all contribute to the structure and banding and make the stone interesting. I'd look at it a lot longer than I would a flawless gem. 

I set the stone in upcycled copper that starts off looking like this.

I'd love to leave it looking like this but people don't like copper oxide rubbing off on their clothes! So I do the next best thing- I leave imperfections. Look closely at the copper setting above and you can see some scratches and areas where I haven't removed all the patina and the forms are not identical. I have the equipment and materials to make it flawless but I choose to leave it slightly imperfect because it makes it more interesting.

My shop is called The Artist's Mark NOT because my name is Mark (a question I get regularly from visitors) but because I want people to see the mark of the artist in the finished product.

Don't get me wrong, I am not denigrating those who set perfect gems in perfect settings. They have their place and require patience and expertise I admire but don't possess. But think of it- we remember imperfection- the crooked smile, freckled skin, unruly hair. So I'll stick with my style and, hopefully you will find the pieces...interesting!

Time to Shut Down The Cab King

 Half way through the summer I bit the bullet and bought a Cab King cabbing machine and it has exceeded even my high expectations!

It was so much fun that even the lady with the agate eye tried it out!

But now the days are getting shorter and it's getting pretty chilly in my Lap of Lapidary Shop so it's time to shut 'er down and do a clean up and let me tell you, it will be a lot easier with the Cab King! I may even be able to con "The Real Artist" into helping if she wants to collect the rock dust to make pigment!

My last task was to finish a bunch of local Bay of Fundy agate and jasper I had rough cut earlier and I have to say they turned out even better than I had hoped! The Cab King is awesome!

I also finished off some more petrified wood so there will be lots to work with on the jewelry bench when the snows are being blown around by our winter gales. And speaking of that, we are going to get a visit from Hurricane Teddy on Tuesday with wind gusts supposed to top out at 130+ KPH so that should be exciting!

Work is continuing on our new web site- the Seawall Emporium- and I have about 35 pieces ready for photography with a goal of having 50 listed by the end of October so stay tuned!

Stay healthy and sane!

Latest From the Lap of Lapidary

I really miss all the tourists but must confess we are enjoying the slower pace of life this summer. The lady with the agate eye has been up to her old tricks and brought some beauties home with her yesterday, including these two:

Today I fired up the 10 inch Hi-Tech saw and this is what they looked like on the inside. First, the one with all the amethyst druzys:

and here is the second one:

I have to admit, they didn't disappoint. Both the colour and patterning are amazing. And while I was at it, I cut a few more of yesterday's treasures. Here's how they look, outside and inside:

Right now we're hard at work getting our expanded web presence set up for the fall. Look for great things coming from the  Seawall Emporium. I'll keep you posted.

The Artist Comes Over to the Dark Side

Some of you may know that, apart from being an exceptional artist, my wife Vickie (AKA She Who MUST Be Obeyed- anyone who watched Rumpole of the Bailey will get it) is an avid rockhound.

This can pose problems for me because she is always bringing stuff to me to cut open for her. Consequently, the stuff I really want to cut gets put on the back burner. In the past, I have, to no avail, dared her to cut one herself but a few days ago, she finally agreed. The fact that she was taking over most of my shop with an experiment that will be the subject of a subsequent blog might have been a factor in her decision.

Anyway, after donning her professional Cab King apron which she insisted I modify to read Cab Queen, she was ready to begin.

As you can see the smile is tempered with terror. Either that or she is trying to emulate Jack Nicholson in either The Joker or The Shining! And this is before the saw was even running!

So now the saw is actually running and she has started the cut.

She has really good position but because of her basic blindness, she insisted that the blade guard be lifted and this is causing the nice vertical red brown line of cooling oil to appear on her new apron. And yes, it IS time to change that oil!

So now the rock has been cut.

The smile is less manic and her heart rate has come down to the low three figures. She has yet to notice the stain on her apron. So now we have to go outside to the area where I hose down the rocks to remove the oil and after doing so, here's the result of her cut.

As you can see, her smile reflects the heart rate having now dipped below the century mark and I have managed to position her hands so she still can't see the oil stain. The rock was a piece of vein fortification agate surrounded by some chocolate haematite patterning and was actually worth cutting and now she wants me to cut thin slices to make a pair of ear rings! She actually did a great job. The cut was nice and straight due to even pressure on both sides of the stone and there are virtually no saw marks.

Will there be more lapidary work in her future? Only time will tell but she has broken the ice and I think will now feel more  comfortable with the machines!

More Amazing Agate and Jasper from Digby Neck

A while ago, I had a bit of surgery done on my chin and the doc told me to stay away from my machines for a bit but after a follow up visit, I'm good to go again!

So this morning I cut several pieces, mostly to define and cut out shapes for cabs that I will work on over the winter.

This piece is from a beach so we really have no way of knowing where it originated but since I have a drill core of the same material from a site nearby, I'm pretty sure it is local. Here's how it looked on the outside.

This is what's known as brecciated (broken) jasper and here is what it looks like on the inside.

Pretty spectacular, huh? The broken pieces of jasper have been re cemented at a later date and in the process, small cubes of pyrite have formed. They show as shiny gold shapes in the picture.

And if you think that looks good, How about this? Recently, a friend brought me a piece he had found while exploring his property "somewhere" on the neck. He is a fellow lapidary from Arizona and has given me some amazing slabs of petrified wood so since he has no equipment here (bring a saw on your next trip Glenn) I offered to cut it for him. The patterning on the outside looked "interesting".

But I must admit that I wasn't prepared for what lurked inside.

This is called "fortification agate/ plume agate" and it is one of the most amazing examples I have ever encountered. Now I have to find a way to "liberate" it!! (heh,heh).

I am amassing some awesome material to work on over the winter and later in the fall but I also have some beautiful cabs I just finished to amuse myself with.

Man I LOVE cutting rock!

The Summer of Fog

If I was asked to sum up this summer to date in one word, it would be FOG! It's a simple equation: hot air + cold water= FOG.

Ever since I was a boy growing up in Halifax, I've loved the fog. It seems to muffle noise and add an air of mystery and showcases scenery in a haunting soft lens. Vistas you see every day take on another dimension.

This morning, the Lady with the agate eye and her amethyst challenged daughter went for a walk on the beach across the street. Here are some of the pics they came back with. Enjoy!

The rundown pier across the street

The beach at low tide

Daughter trying to find amethyst

This will all be covered in 10 feet of water soon

Our house from the water edge at low tide.

This is an amethyst-free zone

Looks like solid agate in the background.

And here's the amethyst Lisa finally found:

Ok, so it was on my workbench but who's  quibbling?

By lunch time, the sun was shining and the skies were blue and that vast expanse of beach was totally covered in the waters of St.Mary's Bay.

The everchanging vista is just one of the reasons I love living here. You should really check it out!

The Agate Eye is Hereditary- Who Knew?

This is always a busy time here at The Artist's Mark- tons of tourists visiting the shop and lots of inventory to replace.

On top of that, we have to get our wood ready to burn in the wood stove this winter (we usually go through about 2 full cords. That's 256 cubic feet of wood and that is a lot of stacking!

So last week, our granddaughter and grandson came out from Dartmouth to help. Once the wood was stacked, they went out to walk the beach in rather dense fog.

They came back with this:

Who knew that they had both inherited Vickie's "Agate Eye"?  As you can see, I was so impressed that I cut them both and I took the end piece of Erik's and tossed it in the tumbler with a load I was doing. And while it's a little "sugary" it exhibits amazing patterning.

I have managed to get two nice slices to play with and will tumble the other end piece next week.

It feels good to know that the wood is in and "The Agate Eye" has been passed on to another generation!

Why I LOVE Cutting Rock

First off, apologies for not posting for a while. I have been busy on a few "projects" and we're putting in a new patio so life is a bit, shall we say, hectic!

But today, while I toiled away in the rock shop, Vickie went on a little "expedition" and came back with some beauties. They were so nice I decided, being the wonderful husband I am, to drop what I was doing and cut a few for her. Yeah, that's it- for HER (heh,heh).

I apologize in advance for the quality of the pics since I was outside, in high wind and sun and they were drying out but here's how they came off the saw:

I love the offset in the veining in the piece on the left. Here's another:

Interestingly, both upper and lower surfaces are green! Then of course, there was this beauty. First a view from the top.

Lots of nice fortification here and now the cross section:

And here are close ups:

And here's a gorgeous little piece that Vickie already has plans for:

Love that glassy dark area in the middle. Last, but not least, Vickie found a nice, large piece (about 1 foot by 6 inches) of "bling": (amethyst)

I'm really tempted to crack this open and see if there is any cavity behind the crystals but if I ruin it, I fear that Vickie might crack me open!

Visitor traffic is definitely picking up and I've sold so many of my bait bags filled with tumbled rocks that I've had to make more. Fortunately, I don't see myself running out of raw material anytime soon!

So now you know why I LOVE to cut rock and if you're in the neighbourhood, come on by and see some. It's even better in person!!

Lots of Great Stuff Happening!

New Hi-Tech blades have been installed on all 3 saws and have descended into some kind of cutting frenzy.
I will try to post more pics on the weekend but here's a little "teaser".
This is a rock that Vickie found and she wanted me to cut it. I didn't really want to because it didn't look too hot on the outside:

But here's how it came off the saw (this is why I LOVE cutting rock):

There are some really nice flames in this agate as well as pockets of fortification and the odd crystal druzy so this is going to be a lot of fun to polish up and shape into some cabochons for pendants.

I should be able to get about 4 pieces 4 cm x 3 cm and will try to post a pic of at least one finished piece.

The number of visitors is picking up and several pendants have gone to new homes this week (which is bad news for me since I have to make more and that seriously cuts into my "sit on the deck and drink a beer" time)!
Hope to see you soon.
Cheers!