Prudent Man Agate . . .

I'll admit it right now, this is going to be a hit and run.  

I wanted to quickly post this pic I just took of the lovely pendant I made yesterday (I've got to finish the laundry and you know the litany of other stuff that goes by the name of housework, doggone it).

However, here we have a sweet little piece of Prudent Man Agate - not the best piece of Prudent Man I've seen but I wanted to work with the material and this one has wonderful depth.  Now I'm on the lookout for a slab that I can cut and polish to my own specifications.  

Great stuff, yes?

Today's cache . . .

Bitter.  Sweet.  

Some of you remember my relating to you that my lapidary instructor and dear friend, Professor Roger Pabian passed away before Thanksgiving of last year.  As it is with serendipity in a bitter sweet way, the woman who spent 41 years going on rock hunting expeditions with him was the Lincoln Gem and Mineral Show this weekend and was selling some of Captain Agate's work (his wonderful nickname).  

I spent the better part of an hour there with my friend Jan and we combed and picked over dozens of Roger's beautiful cabs, mostly agates, and there we found the best and most beautiful bits and pieces of Captain Agate's passion.  He could coax wonderful scenes from an agate!

I just couldn't resist buying a whole handful of Roger's beautiful stones and I celebrated Captain Agate by taking one of the lovely little pieces of Montana Agate this morning and turning it into a pendant.

I think it's gorgeous.  I do love this little cab and the patterns in it are wonderful made even better with the sliver of burnt orange running through the top.  The three little carnelian beads make a perfect accent.

A little bit of Roger.

Redesign, rework, repurpose . . .

Surely I'm not the only one who takes old pieces apart and reworks them, am I?

I was sifting through my baggies of older work when I came across this circle pendant that had a bead riveted to it and it cried out for a little updating, considering I've been torching the heck out of things and experimenting with enamels.  A little circle punching and enamel firings later, here you are.

Not only did I pin two little modern lime green flower shaped enameled cups to the circle but I also used a bit of leftover (isn't that recycling? repurposing?) silver to form a bail, which I also pinned to the top of the circle.

Love the way this whole piece moves but really, is my neck to freckly for pics?  Thanks, girlfriends.

Making time . . .

For several long months I've been hibernating in and out of my studio.  Mostly I've been exploring new ways to present my work, new techniques and just taking a wandering path through the old and familiar way of doing things hoping to discover a spark to light my creativity torch once again.  

I'm finally ready to take a Spring Step and get this new work out in the galleries and listed on etsy and see what happens.

The first little necklace to make its debut in my shop is a squarish piece of reticulated sterling silver that I've framed with silver wire and accented with a pinned lavender enamel blossom, also sterling silver. {The reticulation process is a heating and cooling of the surface of the silver until you get the surface you want and the glassy bloom is lovely for off-setting the texture of the silver.}

I'm working away at my bench getting more work ready to enter the world and I'm glad I took some time for myself to head into some new territories.  As a self-taught artist, it can only improve my sense of direction.