What's New At The Artist's Mark?

 Well folks, a very busy summer is finally winding down. First I want to thank all the nice people who stopped by and supported us (you know who you are!). We had time to do a bit of experimenting and here are two guitar picks Vickie made from polymer clay.

Thank you so much Jonathan for your detailed professional evaluation!

Vickie was also busy knitting socks from our gorgeous Seawall Fibres hand dyed yarn. Some were bought in-store but most (including these pairs) found their way to customers all over the place!

We also had some strange and exotic visitors. This white pelican, blown north by Hurricane Dorion, decided to spend a few hours in the marsh next to the shop.

But the next shots are even more rare. Our current exotic visitor is Ted, my geology friend from McGill, who made it all the way from Australia. But what makes these pictures rare is that he is actually working in the Lap of Lapidary alongside "The Lady With the Agate Eye". I know, good help is hard to find so you take what you can get. After a bit of rockhounding, we returned with treasure.

I was very proud of the two of them since they both used my Hi-Tech 10 inch saw to cut their finds and then finished them on the Hi-Tech 8 inch slant lap.

I know- they should have been wearing Hi-Tech aprons but they wanted to wear Cab King- especially since Vickie has customized hers to read "Cab Queen"!

We have pretty much finished up the lapidary work so as soon as the weather turns, we will begin fabricating new pieces to replace all those that went out the door!

As always, if your travels take you to Digby Neck, stop by and say hi and pick up your free piece of The Neck.

Beautiful Guitar Picks From The Lap of Lapidary

Recently, I've sold a lot of guitar picks so it was time to make some more.

Fortunately, I had been working on a massive cabochon project and had some very beautiful and interesting pieces of Mexican Crazy Lace Jasper left over that were large enough that I could define a pick shape in them.

Here are the three I made yesterday.

As you can see, this is gorgeous material. I've photographed it a little wet because they have only gone halfway through the smoothing/ polishing process. One of the best aspects of this rock is that it has amazing integrity- no cracks or softer spots. This is important because in order to make a playable pick they need to be thin- very, very, thin!

I use a micrometer to ensure that, when finished, they will be no more than 2 mm. thick. And since I never use a dop stick, this can be a little hard on the fingers- so much so that Vickie has mandated that if more than one finger is bleeding, I must stop! (It's called suffering for your art!)

For all you guitar players out there, I have been told that they play a bit like titanium picks and are a little harder on the strings but have a beautiful resonance. That suits me fine since I also make jewelry from used guitar strings! So buy a pick and send me your strings!

I sell them in the shop, complete with their own hand made/sewn leather pouch for the ridiculous low price of $35 Cdn. and I also ship.

The King of Agates

 I am now well into my 8th decade of fascination with rocks- especially agates.

Why agates you say? Diamonds and other gems bore me but agates, with their infinite variety of inclusions, never do. I'm drawn not only to the colours but also the amazing patterns and often wonder under just what conditions they could possibly be formed.

Recently I had a visit from a man who has the same fascination- on steroids!

Pat McMahan lives in Arizona but his agate obsession has taken him all over the world. In the process he has amassed a Smithsonian worthy collection- the second largest in the world!

A few years back, his quest for new varieties brought him to Nova Scotia and to my shop, "The Lap of Lapidary" on Digby Neck and he has now visited on several occasions. Pat is particularly interested in plume agate and sagenite and we are honoured that he has left with several of Vickie's finds.

This year's visit was special. Because of Covid he had not been here for a few years and I was able to acquire a copy of his book.

To say that Pat, over the course of years and with the help of his sons, has written and published a book is like saying Rembrandt "just" painted a picture! His book is titled simply "Agates" and apart from being breathtakingly beautiful(and I don't use that term lightly) it is a stunning treasure, loaded with gorgeous colour photos of agate varieties from all over the world along with unique, valuable information.

"Agates" is a true labour of love as Pat and his sons prepared all the specimens, did all the curating and all the photography themselves.

So if you like agates, you owe it to yourself to visit Pat's website at www.agateswithinclusions.com. If you are a lapidary, you will drool at Pat's shop and collection of equipment. And if you are true lover of agates and want to go on a worldwide trek to discover beautiful varieties, indulge yourself and get your own copy of this most beautiful treasure!

Pat in his shop

What Happens To The Rocks I Cut?

 My last post showed some of the local rocks I recently cut. But what happens next?

To a great degree, that depends on what I discover inside. If the rock has cracks, it will probably shatter when I grind it but if it has interesting features, I can sometimes make beautiful specimen pieces. If the rock is solid and interesting, I will use it to make cabochons. This requires me to rough cut the shape I want on my Hi-Tech saw and then grind and polish it on my Cab King.

Several of the pieces shown last time were good enough to become cabochons and I thought you might like to see the transformation.

This piece of petrified wood became ...                                                            this.

And this became ...                                                                                   this.              

This one was so spectacular I had to make several pieces:

Fantastic end result. Couldn't pick a best side for the teardrop so I finished both!

It is an absolutely amazing experience watching the transformation from a piece of rough rock to a finished piece. So if your travels take you to Digby Neck, stop by and see my shop.

The Fun of Cutting Rocks

"Life', as Forest Gump so famously said, "is like a bunch of chocolates". He was referring to the unexpected surprises (good and bad I guess) that serve to make our lives interesting. 

Cutting rock is much the same. Surprises, both good and bad are revealed. True, if you know what you're doing, you have an inkling. But you never REALLY know.

The weather on Digby Neck has warmed up enough so that my water cooled lapidary machines can be fired up and recently I did a bit of cutting. Here are a few interesting pieces.

The first piece looked pretty good on the outside, with nice pink colouring.

But it was only when cut that the beautiful patterning was exposed, including the gorgeous pockets of fortification agate.

The next is a piece of petrified wood found on a beach. It had all the earmarks of petrified wood on the outside.

But when I cut it, the beautiful organic structure became evident and the great colouring also showed up.

Sometimes you get a complete surprise. On the outside it looked like a nice piece of agate.

But on the inside, there was an amazing array of colour and patterning. This will make a couple of amazing cabochons!

I'll be doing more cutting next week so stay tuned. And if you are in the area, come by and see our retail shop as well as my "Lap of Lapidary!

The Lap of Lapidary is Open!

 I often see people asking how to set up a lapidary shop so I thought I'd show mine. First off, decide what you want to do- cut, grind, shape, polish, make jewelry- the options are endless. Lapidary equipment can take up a lot of space and be expensive so you might have to be selective. In my case, I have a dedicated powered shop 24 ft. X 12 ft. so I have lots of room. I could even fit a few more pieces in if anyone wants to make a donation (heh,heh)! Here's the set up.

The window (not shown) and fan provide good ventilation and it is well lit. I also run an air filter. I made most of the tables and they are sturdy and solid- a real must.

In my case, I decided I didn't want to cut really large rocks so my two largest saws have a 10 inch blade. The oil saw was made 60+ years ago by a company in Edmonton Canada (long gone) called Mercury. It is cast aluminum so will last a lot longer than I will!

It has a motorized feed and rock vise that I rarely use since I run the rocks through by hand. I made the splash guard and my daughter Sandra installed the new 1/2 HP  motor last year. Notice my rock filing system in the background! I use it for cutting large rocks for specimens and slabs.

My other large saw is one of my favourite pieces. It is also 10 inches but is cooled/ lubricated by water.

This saw is made by Hi-Tech and I have a sliding vise and bridge for it. It is made from an amazingly sturdy and rugged polyethelene which means it won't rust and is much easier to clean. And it is so much easier (and I think healthier) to work with water. I cut slabs with this saw but can also cut shapes from the slabs with the thin blade. I can even use it to cut glass.

I am very fortunate to have a wife who loves to comb the nearby beaches and since every visitor to our store gets a free local rock, I need a tumbler. Mine is a Lot-O-Tumbler that holds a 4 LB load.

It is an absolute horse and I run it all summer. Since it is a vibrating tumbler, I go from rough to polished finish in a week or less so I will do about 25 loads each year. The concrete base stops it from going on a tour of the shop.

It is only after I have cut a rock that I can decide what I want to use it for. Since we have fantastic local agate and jasper, many become polished specimens that are sold in the store. And for this task I have another amazing machine called a slant lap.

This machine is also made by Hi-Tech and extremely durable. It grinds a flat surface by use of round plated that vary in coarseness and is cooled by water so very easy to clean. I hang my different plates on wooden dowels above the machine. These machines are also available with a horizontal top but I find the slant angle mush easier if your back is as old as mine!

I have a flat top grinding machine that I use for a variety of purposes.

This machine has a rotating spindle to which I can attach either a cutting or grinding bit. I use it for shaping stone or glass but can also use it to cut grooves around pieces to allow me to use a wire wrapping technique. It is also cooled by water. The black object behind is my air purifier.

In order to drill holes in rocks, it must be done under water. And while some can do it by a hand held tool, I much prefer a drill press.

Here, I have a diamond bit installed and a tray so the piece can be drilled under water. If you want more info on this operation, just contact me.

I have to say that while I like working with all the various pieces in my shop, if I had to whittle it down to a favourite, it would be the Cab King!

This machine allows me to polish surfaces and create high polished cabochons for pendants. I have had other similar machines but there are a few things that set this one apart. Most importantly, the wheels are cooled by water that comes from above (as opposed to below with some other machines). This avoids contamination. Secondly, when compared to other units, this one is quite quiet. Thirdly, the wheels on one side can be removed and replaced by an 8 inch trim saw running off the same motor and it is a really good trim saw! And the motor is powerful enough for two people to work on wheels on different sides at the same time. Lastly, it is very easy to clean.

If you have any questions, I'll be happy to answer them and if you happen to find yourself on Digby Neck, in Nova Scotia Canada, come on by and see them in action.

So there you have it. And while some might prefer to live in the lap of luxury, I much prefer living in The Lap of Lapidary!

Why "The Artist's Mark"?

 The Artist's Mark has now been open for 6 years now and countless visitors have asked how we got the name and/or is my name Mark. So here's the answer. 

My wife Vickie (AKA The Real Artist) is a process painter at heart and her signature is the distinct marks she includes in her work.

Vickie will literally use anything that can transport pigment to make a mark- sticks, feathers, leather, rope, fingers, wire- if it's handy, she'll use it. Over the winter, she decided to make herself some mark making brushes by upcycling things found, especially on the beach across the street. When she had finished, she showed them to some of her art friends and they all wanted one. So after filling those requests, she's made a few for the shop and here's what they look like.

We call them Artist's Mark Brushes and while they are great for making marks, they also make an amazing souvenir of your trip to Digby Neck. In the second pic up from the bottom, you can even see that she personalized it by putting the person's name in norse runic characters and others are decorated in various ways (wood burning, beadwork, leather work etc.). She loves making them so by the time we open this spring, we should have a good selection. If you would like one and can't get here, just send us an email to the address at the top of the blog and we can give you some options.

I have also taken to leaving my mark- signs of my process- on my jewelry pieces so people can see that a human being actually took the time to make what you are wearing.

So now you know why we are The Artist's Mark and we hope to see you in person. And my name is Peter.