My Summer Lapidary Project

 I am blessed to live in an area where there is beautiful rock- agate, jasper, amethyst, carnelian, petrified wood- you name it and "She With The Agate Eye" will find it!

Because of Covid, this summer promises to be pretty quiet tourist wise so I felt it was a good time to work with some of my "inventory", a small fraction of which is shown here in my hi-tech plastic bag rapid retrieval system.

So my goal for this summer is to produce at least 100 top quality cabochons!

The first step was to fire up the Hi-Tech 10 inch slab saw (as shown here - mine ain't quite as clean!) It's a win/win as after I have done a bunch, Vickie cleans out the sludge and uses it to make pigment for her (real) art. She even sells the stuff!

I am cutting slabs and slices and then after a close examination of the rock, choosing the best possible shapes and sizes to maximize colour and patterning. They then look something like this.

Then I install the trim saw attachment on my Cab King. Honestly, I now do this in under 5 minutes- start to finish.

I love this saw for several reasons. First, it is an excellent trim saw and the Cab King blade is REALLY good. Secondly it is easy to clean. And lastly, putting the saw on the right I can still use the coarse grinding wheels at the same time I'm using the saw. Now don't get the idea that I'm good enough to cut and grind simultaneously but sometimes it is handy to move from the saw to the wheels and back.

So then I end up with a bunch of what are called "pre-forms". By the way, notice the extensive use of plastic meat trays!

As you can see, I make lots of small cuts to minimize the amount of rock I have to grind away thus saving wear on my coarse wheels.

Sometimes, if a rock is really small, I'll attach it to wood blocks to make it easier to handle and I find that, with a little practice, you can cut thicker slabs in two when you want thin slices for earrings etc.. I use double sided Gorilla Tape but it's not really vital.

So the project has begun and I'll update you on my progress and try to show as many pics of the finished product as I can.

Hopefully, at some point, Covid is in the rear view mirror and you can come and visit in person but in the meantime, if you see anything you like in our shop (www.seawallemporium.com) or on the blog, just let me know.

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.

More Pendants off The Bench

I have finally had a block of time to finish off most of the pieces that I had started on. As you can see, they vary from simple to complex.
Here's a small but powerful piece of Mexican Crazy Lace and even at only about an inch high, it makes a big statement. Both the front and back have amazing colour and patterning (sorry for the pic quality):

This next piece is more complex but again showcases a beautiful local stone. All the copper work is hand made.

Since I was using a thicker copper wire as a design element, I had to come up with a neat way to make the connection at the back so here's how it looks.

Then there is this beautiful piece of petrified wood from the Petrified Forest in Arizona. My friend Glen, who is from the area, gave me the slab and it polished beautifully.

Up close the patterning is awesome and since it is a relatively large piece (2.5 inches) I kept it simple and elegant with an antique sterling silver bale and clasp.

This next stone is amazing with stunning colour and patterning.

The patterning in this local stone kind of makes it look like Digby Neck and I showcased it with some hand made copper work.

And finally, here's a gorgeous piece of local carnelian. I love carnelian, especially banded as this piece is.

The colour was so beautiful that I didn't want to lose one bit of the stone so I just left it free form and tumble polished it and attached it to a bit of hand made copper work with a glass bead for balance.

In the upcoming weeks, I plan on trying some new techniques so stay posted. Also, we are pretty close to being able to offer pieces for sale on the Seawall Fibres web site so check the blog as I will post it when it happens.

More New Pieces From The Bench

Well the weather has been up and down like a toilet seat so I've had some time to sit down at the bench and finish a few "WIP"'s- works in progress. I stole that term from the knitting crowd (heh,heh).
Here's a nice little piece of Crazy Lace that comes with a sparkly druzy in the center.

It has a hand made copper prong setting and copper clasp and is hung from a premium leather cord.

Then we have this nice piece of banded jasper.

I used a really nice decorative copper bale and is hung from a longer soft hollow glass cord.

The next two pieces were really fun to do because they required a lot of planning and engineering. The first is a beautiful piece of local carnelian that absolutely glows. I decided to use it in its natural shape- pretty much just as it was found.

Gunmetal chain and wire were used to complement the colour and a solitary glass bead was added for balance and a sense of mobility.

Then the fun really began. I hand hammered and drilled a piece of thick copper wire to produce a flat paddle and the clasp and all other findings are hand made in copper.
Finally, here is a gorgeous piece of local plume/ fortification agate. Both the colour and patterning are amazing so I decided to come up with a setting to really showcase it.

The stone is wrapped with copper wire attaching it through drilled holes to a copper back plate which was then attached to two hand made copper eyelets.
In this close up you can see the delicate design which was impressed into the copper plate by running it through a metal roller with a piece of desiccated leaf.

It is hung from a premium Greek red leather cord with a beautiful copper lobster clasp.
So my next project will be to use some of the butter soft leather I picked up recently in a couple of pendants and then learn how to use the JoolTool to finish a few specimens. So stay tuned and see how it turns out!

Latest Piece of Rock Jewelry

It has been really cold here of late so I finally got around to cleaning my work bench so I could finish a few things.

Here is a really interesting local stone that has a bit of everything- agate, jasper and pockets of crystalline quartz.

The stone is fairly large (4.5 mm high) and the quarts pockets make it "twinkle" as the stone moves. Because of the size, I was able to use 18 gauge copper wire to make the "prong" setting I have developed and it is nice and firm. And if you look really closely, you can see a few "artist's marks" which I like to leave on the piece. I hung it from a really nice persimmon premium Greek leather cord and used 100% hand made copper clasps.

And here it is ready to go to a very nice lady in Bear River.

My next piece is going to feature a copper plate with a very intricate cut out design to set a gorgeous piece of local carnelian so look for it in a couple of days.

Cheers!

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!

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!

Why I LOVE Cutting rock- Part Two!

Today, I finally got to do a little rockhounding myself and while most of these are Vickie's, the last one is MINE (and it's worth the wait!).

Lets start with a really nice piece of jasper:

Actually, looking at it now, it looks like possibly carnelian- great colour and patterning. Vickie says she has dibs on the end piece but I'll get at least 4 more.

Now here's a really interesting little piece of amethyst that has been brecciated (broken) by quartz:

Don't know how this will be to work but it sure looks spectacular.

Then there's this little gem with plume and great fortification agate sections:

It looks awesome backlit:

And if you like red, you'll love this one. In person, the plumes are even nicer and I can't wait to polish it:

And now for the piece de resistance! The light was really flat and at first all I saw was the globular black hematite on the surface.

One end looked interesting- the other not so much so I decided to cut across to make the interesting end more manageable on the saw. I guess I chose a rather fortuitous spot:

So now this end looks interesting too and #1 daughter has already claimed a slab with the druzy (I think I'll get two). Back to the interesting end. In cross section it isn't much:

But oh boy, when I cut in the other direction- BAM!:

The fortification pockets are amazing and I can't wait to polish it. Don't know what will happen to the patterning as I cut slices but there is still fortification on the other face.
I may actually have to barricade myself in the rock house because it appears that several family members want a piece and they never get around to paying me!

So if you want to see some interesting jewelry made with spectacular local rock come on by! I'll be locked inside the rock shop.

The Before...

Most of the time, I show you the "after"- the end result of rocks that have been cut, ground, polished, drilled and set but today I thought I'd show the "before"- what they look like at the beginning, before I have even scraped off the barnacles.
It's misty rain and foggy here today but yesterday was beautiful so "She Who MUST  Be Obeyed and I went on a little rockhounding expedition.
At one point we found a few large boulders with some really nice vein material and this was both good and bad news since I then had to go back and get a 20 lb. sledge hammer But I have to say it was worth it. Here's a bit of what we came back with.

This is a nice piece of agate showing plume and fortification characteristics. There will be even more detail when it is polished.

This is amethyst that was sitting as a face on top of a beautiful agate seam.

Some really nice fortification agate that will make an amazing pendant when finished.

This shows you the power of tectonic forces.The black rock (an igneous rock called basalt) has been shattered by some force and the spaces filled with a mineral called stilbite which later has been partially replaced by agate.

This is an amazing seam that includes fortification agate and possibly some carnelian. It will polish up like glass!

Lastly, a huge chunk of what appears to be straw agate. If so, it will show some amazing patterning when it is cut and should polish up really well.
All this rock was found on Digby Neck so if you are looking for a place to find some really interesting stuff, come on down! And if you do, stop by the VT Rock Shop at The Artist's Mark and see how this material is transformed into a beautiful end product.