Did you know how much of the detail and character of a tree of life appear at the very end of the shaping process? The first photo is before final pliers-work and the second is after all the crimping and kinking give the tree its final shape.
This dark green, almost black, stone is Applegate jade, a particular kind of serpentine found near our home in southern Oregon. This is another piece Larkin created from the slab up, so to speak.
Larkin completed the rock shop's cabochon making class that is required before using the machines specifically for making cabs. They work so much better and faster than the other machines! I can't wait to see what comes next...
Check it out! This is the very first Idle Talons piece that began as a raw chunk of rock! Larkin cut, shaped and polished the aventurine then wrapped the cabochon in copper wire. The copper has been oxidized and polished. Blue aventurine is said to keep personal thoughts and communication healthy and vibrant. We called this one "Ocean Currents."
Finished piece with the raw rock from which the cabochon was cut.
Me: How many tools do you possibly need to make one little piece of jewelry?!
Larkin: More.
The middle stage of wrap projects are always exciting... and by “exciting” we mean they seem like they could go horribly wrong at any moment!
Dragon eyes start with a plain glass cabochon. Backgrounds are cut from nature magazines and pupils drawn on with a paint pen, then glued to the back of the cabochon. The back is painted black then coated in a waterproof glue. Choosing colors and beading the lid and spines gives each eye its final, distinctive look. Every dragon eye is unique, so if you see one you love, snap it up!
Took a brief break from market prep yesterday to join in on a field trip with the Roxy Ann Gem and Mineral Society. Found lots of agate and petrified wood and can’t wait to see how it polishes up! (Foreground of second picture has a colander just out of the rock tumbler.)
We've been quiet lately, we know! Larkin's first market of the season is Tuesday and the Idle Talons product line has changed a great deal since we designed displays-- fewer bead intensive pieces, more wire work. So we've been hard at work and getting a little loopy making sure everything is ready for a successful kick-off to market season!
Someone's poor parent is going to go cross-eyed sorting them out later...
Nothing says “fun Saturday afternoon” like a pile of frog eyeballs!
Help us with a tough decision! The dragon eyes are very striking and are big sellers at local markets, but Larkin doesn't feel they can be priced in a way that accurately reflects how many hours of time are required to make them. The beadwork on one of these eyes takes literally less than half the time that the other does. Is it obvious which? Do you strongly prefer one over the other (discounting preference for the eye itself)?
The evolution of a cabochon! A friend gifted Larkin a beautiful chunk of raw, blue aventurine so it was time for another trip to the shop at Crater Rock Museum! Larkin cut the stone into slabs, rough cut a cabochon shape, then ground and polished to the finished state. So cool!
Larkin finally met the age requirement to join the Roxy Ann Gem and Mineral Society at Crater Rock Museum and learn to use their machines! Here’s Larkin’s very first cabochon made from a stone our family found on the northern California coast. We know the matrix is quartz— any rock hounds out there who know what forms the dark streaks?
The sunstone is finally out of the rock tumbler! These gleaming sparklies are sure to inspire something lovely. After the snow melts. ;)
Froggy fingers? Dragon wings? Stay tuned... ;)
Larkin hits the geeky trifecta: making dragon eyes while playing Dungeons & Dragons and wearing a hack lab t-shirt. Special appearance by younger brother doing a hybrid dragon/Popeye impression.
Plotting, scheming, designing! The sunstone we gathered a few years ago is on its way to the rock tumbler...
Make a tree of life, they said. It’ll be fun, they said.
Pippin is “helping” his favorite bed with that tricky wire wrapping.
Larkin has been playing with oxidizing and polishing copper. What a difference! Last night's experiment, in all its lustrous and burnished glory, is now listed at www.IdleTalons.com
