Another new Piece Off The Bench

I thought some of you might be interested in how some of these pieces are designed and made so I'm going to go through this one step by step.
It started with a beautiful piece of local straw agate that had an irregular shape and beautiful live edge. So we decided to mount it to a sheet of German Silver that was cut to reflect the stone's shape.

The plate was distressed and holes were drilled to allow for wire wrapping and jump rings to attach a cord. Both sides of the plates were distressed.

The stone was then glued to the plate using clear Gorilla Glue and left to set overnight. The next day, German Silver wire was used to wrap the stone to keep it from moving in any direction (in theory, the glue should do this but you never know...).

The back shows how the wire has been secured and tightened.

Then we chose a beautiful premium Greek leather cord and decided to use a very labour intensive method to create "eyes" in the leather by wrapping them in German Silver wire to match the stone wrapping. The cords were then attached to the plate using a German Silver jump ring.

Finally, I used a premium silver clasp on the other end of the leather cord and the piece was complete!

So waddya think? I love mounting stones like this and will post more on the blog in the days ahead. And if you want to see this piece in person, just come by the shop.
Cheers!

Back in the Rock Lab

We have had snow and high winds on The Neck for the last few days but with my industrial heater, it's warm enough to work in the lab.
So here's an update on the material I showed you in my last post. I have finished the cab and guitar pick I made from petrified work and here's how it looks before I do the final polish.

I am actually going to use the red pebble grained leather behind the stones to create a "setting" for the guitar pick and it will become a pendant for Vickie's 48th wedding anniversary. (I looked it up and 48 years is petrified wood- actually, it's home improvement but that's no fun!). I won't polish the pick because it will become too slippery to use but I'll probably use my tin oxide and Fordham Buffer on the pendant.

I also finished one of the two pieces of Rhodonite (I love this material!). Again, this photo is taken before any polishing but just as it came off the 8,000 grit belt.

This stone is 4.5 cm x 2.7 cm and I have actually cut a groove all around the edge of the stone to hold a silver wire which will be the only setting. The stone's patterning and colour are so striking I want to show as much as possible. This one along with the petrified wood piece will be available eventually in the Artist's Mark Shop.

So that's how I'm spending Black Friday. Hope that wherever you are, you have a great day!

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!

We have Earrings!

In looking at our inventory, I noticed that we were light on earrings. So that's what I've been up to recently and we now have 12 pairs in the shop including these beauties.

The upper two pairs are natural, elongated quartz crystals with black agate and garnet beads- one in copper and one in sterling silver. The bottom pair is a combination of polymer clay and resin with brass wires.
We also have a really nice pair of quartz crystals that go really well with a pendant I made recently.

Polymer clay is an amazingly versatile material and Vickie has incorporated it in several mixed media pieces including this one.

So to start the season, we have an amazing variety of interesting items so if your plans are taking you to this area, be sure to stop by.
And for all you knitters, we have received several shipments and now have a huge selection of our world famous Seawall Fibres hand dyed yarn.
Cheers!

Sensational in Silver

So the expected nor'easter is upon us and the snow is quickly piling up, being driven sideways by gale force winds. On Digby Neck, we call this Tuesday.

Inside, the wood stove is cranked up and it is nice and warm (house is making some funny noises, though).

So it's perfect weather for working with some beautiful stone. I cut this piece from a rock Vickie found pretty close to home. There is a cluster of amethyst crystals at the top that sparkles as it moves and the colour is picked up in the banding of the agate.

I call this piece "Lavender Light".

It is wrapped snugly in 24 gauge sterling silver wire and hung on a delicate, 17 inch sterling silver chain. Quite frankly, the photo doesn't do it justice.

Digby Neck has an amazing diversity of both scenery and rocks and minerals and it is an absolute treat to have so many beautiful pieces in the shop. So if you are planning a trip to Nova Scotia in the summer, come on by the shop and say hi!

Cheers!