What's New at The Shop?

 Like the rest of the world, we have been in a state of suspended animation and isolation. We thought we would have the shop open all summer but then we had another total shut down and now it looks like early July might be our opening- if we open at all this summer. We sure do miss all our visitors!

Anyway, life goes on. I am back in my Lapidary workshop- the Lap of Lapidary- and have had both the 10 inch Hi-Tech saw and the Cab King Lapidary unit along with the trim saw attachment humming at various times. I have cut a LOT of rock, which I'll show in subsequent posts but today I'd like to show some of my recent completed projects. Last year I cut a beautiful piece of rhodochrosite from a mine in Argentina and I've just completed a set using one of the pieces.

The rock is so beautiful and since it was found in a silver mine, I thought it appropriate to combine it with sterling silver. I just love the way it turned out and I have two slices left!

I have also worked several stone to completion. The one in the center of this pic was sold to a lady who saw it on Instagram. It is a great piece of Mexican Crazy Lace Jasper and I can't wait to see what she does with it!

The weather here is still not great- sure wish global warming would show up! But the tumbler is on its third load and I have spent the really cold days making Viking knit chain in copper and sterling silver.

Just love the way they transform when drawn through smaller holes on the draw plate.

So we're keeping busy and if the shop ever opens, will have plenty of great pieces for you to see along with our amazing selection of hand dyed premium Seawall Fibres yarn.

In the meantime, check out our on-line shop- The Seawall Emporium, at www.seawallemporium.com

Stay safe and sane!

Anatomy of an Agate Pendant

 It starts, as it always does, with a stone. In this case it was a nice hunk of peach coloured agate that "She With The Agate Eye" brought back to the shop. As she is want to do, she insisted that I should cut it because there was treasure inside- she just knew it. Over the last 50+ years, I have learned to go with her hunches so I cut and by pure chance, cut right through a crystal druzy pocket not visible on the surface. I cut a slice and then cut a shape and after grinding and polishing on my Cab King this was the result.

It is a really beautiful stone but it lacked "pop" against any light background so I decided to try a copper backing. Now all my copper is reclaimed and upcycled. I have several sheets (thanks Dan) and it starts out looking like this.

It would be a stretch to get someone to wear copper like that so here's my process. First, I have to come up with some ideas and I was fortunate to have two other talented artists "in residence" at the time. Here are some of the ideas we considered.

The one on top was very interesting but not workable (sorry Sandra) so we eventually settled on the one in the lower left. From that, I made a pattern 

and then I cut a rough version of the shape from the copper plate. After a lot of filing and sanding, I had an exact fit to the pattern and now it was time to make the copper beautiful. To do this, I first flattened it by running it through a rolling mill and then started sanding the surface. I could use a Dremel but prefer to do it by hand and after starting with 100 grit, I keep working it through 12,000 grit. That takes time but the results are just what I want- a burnished piece of copper that retains the vestiges of it's previous life.

As you can see, backed by the copper, the stone takes on an amazingly warm hue and the druzy really stands out because of the spot of burnished copper that shows through. I now drilled holes in the bottom of the plate to hold a copper chain from which we suspended a nice matching Swarovski crystal and after rolling the "tongue" to create a bail for the neck cord. this is the result.

My objective is always to showcase the stone as best I possibly can and I'm pretty happy with this result. As usual, feedback is greatly appreciated and this piece will be available for purchase either through my "virtual store"- The Seawall Emporium (www.seawallemporium.com )- the Lap of Lapidary- or at the real store- The Artist's Mark- on Digby Neck, Nova Scotia. Hope to see you this summer!

An Exciting Announcement

 In the five years we have had our shop open on Digby Neck, literally thousands of people have come through the door and many have left with one or more of our pieces. Often, they or their friends contact us later about purchasing items online.

Although there have been no cases of the Covid virus in our area, we were unable to open this summer because of government restrictions and we really missed greeting new guests.

                     Introducing The Seawall Emporium

Our daughter Lisa, has established herself as a world class hand dyer of premium yarns which are sold through her company, Seawall Fibres. We sold thousands of skeins through our shop and since she already had an on-line presence, we decided to piggyback on it.

At the Seawall Emporium, you will find four small shops belonging to artists and craftsmen driven by quality and uniqueness.

At Lisa's store-Seawall Fibres, you will find an extensive and beautiful selection of hand dyed yarn in all weights.

If you are a knitter or know a knitter, you owe it to yourself to check it out!

Then there is Mitchell Brook where Sandra Mitchell offers her selection of premium goods geared to travel and leisure. She often creates what she can't find so you will be sure to find something truly unique such as these beautiful key chains containing gemstones from the Seawall on Digby Neck.

Next, you come to Seawall Art. Vickie Turner is a mixed media abstract artist recognized as a signature member of the Federation of Canadian Artist but she literally creates everything! Since she is also an acclaimed teacher in the field of polymer clay, you will find gorgeous, museum quality jewelry along with fine art, whimsy and, from time to time, the artist's own "secret stash"!

And finally, there's The Lap of Lapidary, where retired geologist Peter Turner turns gemstones into rock jewelry and unique and beautiful stone guitar picks.

So take a step back in time and visit the Seawall Emporium- where there is no need to wear a mask or practice social distancing. Grab a cup of your favourite beverage and visit four unique shops, all from the comfort of your own home.

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!

What We've Been Up To

So how are we all bearing up in these "unique" times? It is so strange not having tourists visiting the shop but we are still keeping busy.

The new Cab King has proven to be amazing and we are producing some really outstanding finished product.

I have run into a bit of a problem though in that the "real artist" has decided she likes working on it as well and has even demanded her own apron!

Fortunately, she got bored and returned to her own side of the wall where she has been busy making gelli prints. I have no idea of the process other than the fact that I can no longer remove any of the various weeds around the house. The results are pretty cool I must admit. Here are a couple that are about 12x16 inches.

I find the detail amazing and, frankly struck by how beautiful an image a weed can make. Almost makes up for the fact I live my life in a grade 7 science project!

Next week I will shift my attention to some cutting on the 10 inch saw and making some polished specimens on my Hi-Tech slant lap so stay tuned!

The Spring of Covid 19

Well, we sure didn't see THAT coming!

Like most of the rest of the world, we have been self isolating. It was a little easier for us because I had my second hip replaced on Feb. 24th and because I had a nasty post op staph infection after #1, I had been told to stay away from people for a while and since I was using a walker, visits to town weren't an issue.

Then we started hearing reports of the effects of the corona virus and it became obvious that this spring would not be "Business as Usual".

On the hip front, things have been going great. Thanks to my loving wife (A.K.A. Nurse Ratchet") I did my rehab faithfully and I hope to be fully cleared to get back to normal activities when I meet with the surgeon by telephone later this week.

That means that I will be able to get back to doing lapidary in my shop!

As per normal here in Nova Scotia, early spring lingers because of the icebergs and cold water temperatures but the weather is slowly improving and Vickie (she with the agate eye) has been able to do a bit of rockhounding. here is her latest find.

This is a great specimen of Bay of Fundy flame agate and I can't wait to cut and polish a face.

But that's not the only thing she has been up to. When you are married to a mixed media artist, you come to realize that, somewhere in your house, there is one of everything! Vickie uses pieces of her art, combined with 50+ years of accumulated "stuff" to create art books and here's her latest.

The little blond in the last pic is the artist herself as a (very) young girl growing up in Norwayand when I look at it I am very jealous of that little boy.

So what happens now?

At some point, life will gradually return to "normal" but what that normal is remains to be seen. The Fundy tides will still come in and go out like clockwork but I suspect many other things will change forever.

Our shop may or may not even open this summer. I doubt we will see many tourists, that's for sure! At the time of this writing, we are still shipping our famous Seawall Fibres hand dyed yarn all over the world and I am selling some jewelry through the Seawall Fibres web site. I will probably put more pieces on the site in the near future.

Digby, and Digby Neck will dearly miss the tourists. For many, the reason will be economic and while that will be a factor here as well, what I will miss most of all is meeting all the wonderfully interesting people from all over the world who pass through our doors- many who have become friends.

If you had hoped or planned to visit us this summer, don't cross us off your list. When you come to Digby Neck- the most interesting part of the most beautiful province in the most beautiful country in the world- you won't be disappointed! And I guarantee that you will leave with memories that will last a lifetime (and possibly a piece from our shop!).

Stay safe. Stay healthy. Let's beat this thing and put it in the rear view mirrors of our lives.
And let's count our blessings.

The Fish Are Getting Larger!

With the cooler weather, the focus around The Artist's Mark has shifted inside to the art and jewelry studios. And while our shop sign is now sitting on the ground, if the sign says "Open" come on in. We plan on being open, at least on weekends, to the end of the year.

Currently, we are doing a bit of a renovation in the art area, but Vickie has been painting up a storm. As discussed in a previous post, her current fascination is the interaction of ink and watercolour. And her focus has been on creating "Fundy Fish", whimsical creations that highlight just how "special" this area is.

She started small but as the creations flew off the shelf, her focus has shifted to seeing if the idea could be executed in a larger format. So now she has moved to an image that fits into a 5"x 7" frame.

By the way, the above is shown in a "Ribba" frame by Ikea. Online reviews of these have been a little spotty but we really like them and find them very good value. Who knows how large these fish can grow to become. Lobster season starts here on Monday so with them gone, these fish might get huge!

And speaking of Ikea, they make another line of frames called "Hovsta" which we also like. here's another of Vickie's latest works shown in this frame.

We hope to be able to offer these pieces online at some point and if that becomes possible, we'll let you know.

And by the way, I have been asked to participate in an exciting lapidary product trial so stay tuned for further developments!

Cheers!

We Have Fish!

In previous posts, I have chronicled the ongoing scientifically experimental nature of my better half- She Who MUST Be Obeyed. Its most recent manifestation is ink- homemade ink and also how ink could interact with watercolours and other materials in her artwork.

She started by simply putting the two together on different papers using different brushes without paying much attention to shapes and colours but in the process, a fascinating shape started to emerge.

FISH!

But Vickie doesn't see fish the way most do. She is fascinated by things like steampunk and whimsy and a mark making process called "zentangles" that has led to her producing images that have even been put on t shirts.

So her fish eventually morphed into...FUNDY FISH... fish that morphed into hybrid creatures with unique personalities.

She started small (about 4 inches x 6 inches)

But gradually, they got larger.

These are two to three times larger and now she is making them in all sizes and colours. So now the question is, how big can she go. Some of Vickie's pieces are very large 4 feet by 3 feet so should she make them larger still?

With no real promotion, we have sold many of them and since, eventually we will be offering these via the Seawall Fibres web site, we now have to take a trip to Halifax to source larger mats and watercolour sheets. She even has to get bigger brushes! And I have to crack the whip to make sure I have inventory!

I have successfully co-opted the cats in this endeavour because apparently, they also really like fish!

So stay tuned and, if you like them, let us know and also let us know if you think they would look good in a larger size. For your information, Vickie is a signature member of the Federation of Canadian Artists and we sell her work by size- $2.25 Canadian per square inch of image size so since these have a lot of white space, the price is reasonable and they fit in standard sized frames.

We want your feedback!

Cheers.