Once in a while it's all about me . . .

The set up: Sunday night. 9:00pm. Bored. Too early for bed. Finished my book and refuse to turn on the tv. I excuse myself and head out to the pile of rock slabs in the shop where a cat joins me, watching from the windowsill. I find a little bit of Prehnite about the size of your little fingernail and I start to polish.

Monday morning: Using a scrap of silver from another project, I set this stone in a simple bezel, added a long loop for a bail. Change my mind and saw it off and use a tiny slice of tubing for a bail.

I am always surprised when a piece is in progress at how rough and messy it is, metal covered with glassy flux, bits of melted metal, sharp metal edges, a completely nasty piece. But in no time it's polished and hung from a snake chain, now around my neck. I marvel. I'm satisfied that I've fabricated a piece from beginning to end for my own pleasure.

Once in a while, it's all about me and what I want to make for my own creative satisfaction. No worries about finishing a handful of work for a gallery or listing on my etsy site. This is just mine. Unless someone falls in love with it while I'm wearing it. Then . . . awww . . . I'm a sucker for a compliment.

What I like to wake up to . . .

Two sales! Just when I start to lament that I haven't had an etsy sale in October, I get two in one day. However it comes, I like it.

I love this piece of pale cream Willow Creek Jasper and it polished beautifully. Like a pencil line drawing on a creamy paper with a tiny sun rising in the upper corner, or maybe a little coffee spill from the artist's cup, this will be gorgeous on a warm, winter wool coat, maybe a jacket, and I've loved it for a long time. Bye . . . sniff . . . I miss 'em all.

The other little necklace is one of the first pieces of apple green Prehnite that I cut and polished earlier this summer. It glows, I swear. It has its own life. On the back I've punched a pattern of a little constellation from a galaxy far, far away. Another simple setting, it will be perfect hanging in the hollow of your throat.

Bon chance, little pieces!

Enjoy your new home! Write!

Where the magic happens . . . Jill, for you

I probably should have posted a pic of the Genie in my last post to show exactly what my lapidary equipment is. This little guy really does a fantastic job, I think, although there are much larger and more complicated machines.

There are six wheels in six progressively finer grits as noted in my previous post, the finest being a polishing grit, two spitters to keep the wheels wet as I grind and a lamp so I can see what I'm doing, and a magnifying glass for those of us over 40.

And the end result of the piece of prehnite I polished earlier this week - made into a sweet necklace.

(a daylily pair- had to sneak that in)

Yummy stuff . . . .

There is no better word for this material - yummy. I've been looking for prehnite cabs that I could afford or slabs of this sweet stuff and I finally got my lapidary instructor to give some up. Thank you, Captain Agate.

Eight beauties - six slabs and two heels - that I can't wait to work on and I will be posting the little works in progress. If you're interested, join me.

Shop local . . . . .

Here is the scenario: someone mentions to me in some serious tones that it "sure would be nice to shop for stones at the Big Gem Show next year". If you buy beads, gemstones and cabs, you know which Big Gem Show someone's talking about and I think to myself, "Yeah, that would be nice. Get some really gorgeous stuff. Spend some serious bucks." When all is said and done, I'd be out the cost of transportation, accommodations, car rental, food, my valuable time - all before I even set foot in Big Gem Show. Lordy.

The very next day: I go to the local Gem and Mineral Club's annual show. I find everything I want, more than I need, some super deals, even more gorgeous stones, chat with a few locals, run into some friends that I had not seen in months, bought from my incredibly talented friends and neighbors - all in my own backyard. It dawns on me - I can get the best deals from people right here in my own playground! I sleep in my own bed that night, eat my own food, drive my car to and from the show, and my uber-cool, relatively inexpensive finds are waiting for me on my bench. Bonus.

At the local shows, I can get absolutely the best bargains and the sweetest deals on everything I am looking for. No hotel. No car rental. No flying halfway across the US to pay cubic dollars for something I could find right here. True, there is some intrigue and adventure in traveling great distances and finding those great finds but at what cost? And can I build in and recoup those costs in the price of my work? hmmmm

You know, when I weigh the option of staying home and shopping local, who benefits? The short answer - my customer.