Some behind-the-scenes shots today. We went to our first (outdoor), small live music event since the pandemic and thoroughly enjoyed some stellar blues rock. Larkin, tools ever at hand, stocked up on tiny silver leaves while listening. Here at home, a freshly painted batch of dragon pendant boxes dries on the porch. The next in-person Idle Talons market is coming up-- next Tuesday in Ashland!
musings
Applegate Jade Vines
musings, process, productCommentLarkin cut this asymmetric cabochon from one of our favorite applegate jade finds, then used a combination of wrapping and fusing to frame it in sweet silver vines. Pictured with the stone from which it was cut, plus one photo to show how gloriously gleamy it is in sunshine. Larkin's grandpa gets first right of refusal on this beauty, the lucky devil!
New Tree Of Life
venues, product, process, musingsCommentThis is the finished piece Houdini the cat was helping with the other day! The background cab of this piece is cut from a stone we found while we were still learning what applegate jade looks like in the wild. We suspect this stone is a mixture of applegate jade, serpentine, and magnetite-- the raw stone is pictured here.
The mini moon cab is cut from local quartz and tangled in the branches of a tree of life. The frame and tree have been oxidized and polished.
This piece is currently exclusively available at the Royaboya Handmade Bazaar, and will be on the Idle Talons website Monday if it survives. ;)
No Crossing Your Fingers, Either
fun, musings, process, venues, productCommentHoudini is helping Larkin wrap up (get it? 😅) a couple more pieces before the bazaar opens on Friday. These photos also illustrate why you should ALL solemnly double-dog swear, cross your hearts, no takesbacksies NOT to ever ever play the "find the white cat hair" game in *every* *single* *one* of Larkin's product photos. It's a terrible game, trust me.
Scarf Wraps
product, process, musingsCommentA neighbor found these stones on their property and polished them in a rock tumbler. They wanted a simple wrap suited to their natural 3D pebble shapes so Larkin wove them into what we've been affectionately calling a "scarf" wrap. These are a beautiful, quicker way to tie in stones that haven't been cabbed!
How A Jeweler Does Fencing
musings, funCommentEmile (Larkin's dad) and Larkin were sealing up some escape routes in our chicken area and Emile was hemming and hawing over the lack of necessary hardware to make it easy to clip up bird netting. A few twists of Larkin's pliers later and those hens aren't going anywhere!
Inspiration Strikes
musings, process, product, venuesCommentSometimes inspiration comes from some pretty odd places! The lid on a storage box in the Idle Talons bedroom/workshop has a pretty little scroll on its edge and Larkin translated it into wire.
We are thinking it would make a pretty gorgeous circlet/headband! I've been (somewhat selfishly) trying to talk Larkin into expanding into hair decorations, and look! A hair stick with those same delightful curls!
Scorched copper is so pretty, but isn't practical for most jewelry since it turns people green. Another point in favor of copper hair decorations! ;) Larkin is hoping to debut a collection of these lovelies next month in the Royaboya Handmade Bazaar-- we hope to virtually see you there!
It’s Elemental, My Dear Wire Bender
musings, productCommentIt's a little ironic that, in the middle of this extreme heat wave, Larkin discovered it was time re-stock Avatar: The Last Airbender fire pendants! These have been super popular over the years and we can't recommend the show enough-- it's one of the few shows every single person in our family loves. These elemental symbols sure translate beautifully into wire!
Vining Leaf Earrings
musings, process, productCommentRemember the back of that applegate jade pendant that featured a sweet little leafing vine? Larkin translated that design into earrings! These are made up in copper, bright silver, and oxidized silver. Thanks to cousin Theresa for the design inspiration!
Amazonite Lagoon
musings, process, productCommentLarkin cut this teardrop cabochon to get a feel for working with amazonite before making the drawer pulls. This stone looks so much like clear Caribbean waters!
Wrapped in argentium silver and accented with smooth mother of pearl and faceted amazonite beads, this piece is sure to conjure memories of the halcyon days of summer even on the darkest winter night!
Amazonite Drawer Pulls
musings, process, productCommentLarkin had a special request for amazonite drawer pulls and they turned out beautifully! Amazonite is a difficult stone to work with and Larkin's poor perfectionist soul struggled a bit with the small chips at the edges. These will be winging their way to their new home tomorrow!
Desert Landscape
musings, process, productCommentLarkin's latest commission was a wrap around this gorgeous 3-piece cab made by the customer's grandfather. The cab is backed by some green-ish opaque stone, and the front features a picture jasper landscape topped by a blue agate sky.
The piece had been worn as a bolo tie for many years, and Larkin transformed it into a pendant. Larkin wanted to frame the piece without obscuring the cab, and used thicker than usual wire because it's a much larger piece than most Idle Talons work. A gorgeous portal into a desert land!
Applegate Jade Triangle
process, product, musingsCommentThis is one of Larkin's double-sided applegate jade cabochons, domed and polished on both sides with a hole drilled sideways through the tip leaving both faces unbroken. Larkin squared the copper framing wire in the metal roller then twisted it in various directions to fashion a simple frame that really glints in the light!
The frame and stone are not actually attached, so they each dangle and sway independently. Tiny soldered loops hold the frame on the cord and the whole piece is reversible. This piece was a bit too small to hide the flashlight, but it's still fun to see how it glows when backlit! The last picture features the stone from which the cab was cut.
Vining Applegate Jade
musings, process, productCommentThis piece makes me wonder if I finally need to claim my own piece of Larkin's work! If you like petite pieces with intricate detail this just might be the one for you. Larkin cut the cab from applegate jade found by our family, then shaped, wrapped, squooshed, and fused silver wire to form the frame.
The second picture shows how it glows when backlit (!!), and the third shows the sweet little vine Larkin put on the back (as well as the stone the cab was cut from in the background)-- another piece that makes it hard to decide which is the "right" side! Bonus: this translucent green stone also attracts a magnet!
process, product, musingsComment
This piece was made for a neighbor who found the stone on their property after it burned last summer in the Almeda Fire. They have invited Larkin back to do some very close to home rockhounding as they have found a ton of jasper, agate, quartz, and even some stones that look a lot like applegate jade (but what the heck is it doing there?!)! Witnessing our neighbors' journey while the whole community recovers from wildfire has been truly humbling.
This was a small Quartz With Cool Green And Orange Coloring (I'm sure that's the technical term) stone to begin with, so Larkin embraced its asymmetry in both the cab and the wrap style. Larkin sees a forest releasing clouds of springtime pollen. :)
Workshop Update
musings, processCommentWe know news from the Idle Talons workshop has been sparse lately, but not due to inactivity! Larkin has been super busy working on commissions, playing with new tools, and prepping for markets. There are some fun new things in the works, we promise!
Rock Shop Day!
fun, musings, processCommentRock shop day! Larkin was pretty thrilled to be back in the machine shop after a fairly long hiatus. Slabbed up some recent finds with pretty amazing results, rough cut some cabs, and cut some amazonite for a special request for knob pulls. Lots of inspiration for new pretties!
Serpentine Waves
musings, process, productCommentLarkin cut this asymmetric teardrop cab from gorgeous grey-green serpentine found by our family near our home in southern Oregon. The stone’s impression of fluid movement is mirrored by the waves and bubbles of the oxidized copper wrap.
Applegate Jade Planet
musings, process, productCommentA new planet! Larkin cut this cab from applegate jade found by our family and included that really interesting transition zone between the crust and the deep translucent green at the center of the stone. The argentium silver rings follow healed fracture lines. It's celestially orb-tacular!
Oxidized Vining Roses
musings, process, productCommentRemember those oxidized silver roses? Larkin has put them on bright silver vines! I struggled to capture their multitudinous range of colors in photos, so trust me when I say they're even more brilliant in person. If your neck is 14.25 inches or smaller, or if that length wraps twice around your wrist, this beauty could be yours! Of course, Larkin can also add or subtract links as needed to adjust the length.
