After making roses in a live video for last weekend's on-line bazaar, Larkin's gears started turning. ;) These are super detailed; they have been sculpted, hammered, soldered, and wrapped into final form. Larkin says neither of these are quite ready for a website debut, but I'm here to tell you they are gleamingly gorgeous! If you'd like to claim one for $25 shipped to the U.S., comment here with your email address (or send it to us at idle.talons@gmail.com) and specify if you'd like the one on the upper right or the lower left. They are almost exactly the size of a quarter.
process
Mermaid Tails
process, productCommentMermaid tails! Larkin hammered and wrapped these fun, fantasy-inspired fins into their fabulous final form. From lightest to darkest, they are made in bright silver, oxidized silver, and copper.
Picture Jasper Tree of Life
process, productCommentThis purchased picture jasper cab provides a gorgeous background scene that Larkin framed in copper and silver. The outer frame is copper, oxidized and polished until gleaming. The tree is formed from raw copper wires which will develop a natural, more dull patina over time. The swing is sculpted from argentium silver, polished bright.
Bezel Learning Curve
musings, processCommentA recreation of what must have been Larkin's thought process yesterday:
I'd like to try silver smithing. I don't really have the right materials or tools, but obviously today's the day. I think I'll use one of my smallest cabochons that is all curves and a point. That's very sensible. I *do* have a bit of bezel, but no silver sheeting. I'll hammer some wire out to use as backing. Oh look! An S curves nicely around the coral bursts! Hmmmm... how am I going to crimp and burnish this? Hey, remember that railroad spike I picked up on a hike years ago? I put a few twists in it using Emile's old forge. I bet I can polish one edge and use it as a burnisher. Perfect.
😂 Introducing Larkin's very first bezel-set stone. The burnishing is not quite done, so it will get a bit shinier. Obviously it's a learning process-- the fossilized coral sure is purty!
Charoite In Silver
process, productCommentThrowback Thursday... with an update! ;) This is the second wrap Larkin did entirely in silver, around a purchased charoite cabochon. I took a few new pictures because I was never really satisfied with the first set, but I was a bit chagrined to discover that I STILL found it almost impossible to capture the brilliant purple of the stone, the gleaming of the silver, and NOT my own reflection. 😅
Charoite is a stunning, purple stone found only near the Chara River in Russia, said to be very soothing and bring physical healing to its wearer. Better yet, it is said to invite magic into one's life-- this wrap definitely has a whimsical, magical feel-- front and back!
A Day In The Life
musings, process, funCommentToday is a bead-doodling, design-sketching, cab-drooling, family-card-playing kind of day. Happy Saturday!
Gemstone Cuff Bracelet
product, processCommentAfter a few design iterations and some wear testing (after a day of normal wear the copper caused no skin discoloration-- woot!), Larkin is ready to offer these sparkling gemstone cuff bracelets! They are one-size-fits-most and will be slightly loose on a 5 inch circumference wrist, and snug on a 7 inch circumference wrist. These two are silver with smooth turquoise and copper with faceted amethyst, and they're also currently available with faceted garnet and lapis lazuli (but I happen to know that Larkin loves an excuse to buy more gemstone beads if you'd like to commission a different stone 😉).
Two-faced Applegate Jade
process, productCommentLarkin made this piece for a customer who wanted an applegate jade cab with no wire work. Larkin drilled a hole sideways through the top so the cord wouldn't interrupt the faces of the stone, and polished both sides with a dome so it is fully reversible. First two pictures are taken with the rough stone the cab was cut from.
Eye Of The Beholder
process, musings, productCommentLarkin is currently working on a wrap for this cab. This is from a piece of Applegate jade our family found. Larkin included some of the stone's rind and I love the effect of the combined translucence and opacity. Looks to me like a perfect sandy underwater scene. Larkin says it depicts an angry, monstrous frog rising from the deep. To each their own!
Avatar Elements
musings, process, productCommentLarkin got an order for this flowing "water" pendant and discovered it's time to re-stock! Whether or not you're a fan of the animated Avatar: The Last Airbender series (or its equally compelling sequel The Legend of Korra), these elements translate beautifully into wire!
As a side note, I'm kind of blown away by Larkin's ability to re-produce designs! The stock image of all four elements was taken when they were first designed (1.5-2 years ago?) and the solo water was made yesterday. We always include a disclaimer about how, like all handmade products, actual items may vary slightly from the photos, but sheesh! Vary VERY slightly! ;)
Obsidian Disks
process, productLarkin formed this striking pendant from three obsidian disks, polished flat rather than as traditionally domed cabs to showcase the patterning in the stone. In the shade (or against a dark background) the stones have the traditional appearance of glossy black obsidian, but against a pale background you can see the swirling black patterns in the otherwise grey stone. Either way, the argentium silver wrap really gleams against the stone!
Obsidian is tricky to work with— the smallest disk has a very small chip near the edge and the middle disk has a stabilized crack (barely visible against the right edge in some photos). This one is priced lower than most silver-wrapped three-cab pieces would be. ;)
Undulating Applegate Jade
product, process, musingsCommentSome of you may remember this unique cabochon Larkin cut and polished from an Applegate jade stone found by our family. This particular cab is a bit of a chameleon— looking black in some light and deep, mottled green in others. The argentium silver wrap brings out the stone’s natural gleaming magnetite inclusions and the whimsically asymmetric bail suits the cab beautifully!
Idle Talons Was Here
fun, process, musingsCommentLarkin finished work on this approximately head-sized Gallifreyan wall hanging today! This piece embodies a whack-ton of soldering (I'm pretty sure that's the official term), circles and straight lines (two of Larkin's least favorite things to make) so it was truly a labor of love! Larkin chose to leave the copper natural rather than oxidizing and polishing it. Just in case your Gallifreyan is a wee bit rusty, this self-referentially proclaims "Idle Talons made this." Recursive much?
Two-Stone Commission
process, productCommentThis commissioned piece caused a lot of hemming and hawing and head scratching on Larkin's part. The customer had two gorgeous stones they wanted incorporated into a single wrap. The smaller stone is a rough opal with a lovely flash. The larger stone is rutilated amethyst, cut in an irregular shape with straight edges. Larkin's usual flowy, swoopy style had to be adjusted to do these stones justice! Larkin kept the back very simple because the amethyst is so transparent it would be easy to overwhelm the striking rutile needles.
Chert Marquise
product, processCommentLarkin cut this blue-green chert cab to show off its beautiful veining-- it even has a druzy pocket that geologic conditions did not quite manage to fill with druzy. Wrapped in copper that follows the lines of a couple of the most prominent veins, the finished piece is oxidized and polished to a gleaming finish. Pictures of front and back of piece.
Gleaming Leaves
musings, process, productCommentNew leaves going up in the next day or so-- including Larkin's first two pairs of leaf earrings! These are truly a labor of love-- it turns out making small, matching cabochons is not for the faint of heart. I was wondering if stone earrings would be heavy, but each of the larger applegate jade earrings weighs less than a quarter.
There are also two more applegate jade pendants here-- they've been hard to keep in stock! I questioned the choice of blue aventurine for the small pendant, but Larkin started singing Harry Chapin's "Flowers Are Red" at me and I have been suitably chastised. (Look it up if you don't know the song-- heartbreaking!)
Sunset Sodalite Wings
product, musings, processCommentLarkin cut this cabochon from sunset sodalite, so named due to the areas of pink/peach in the otherwise brilliant blue stone. Sunset sodalite is said to bring its wearer clarity, strength, and confidence.
With a wingspan of 14.5 cm and a drop of almost 8 cm from the tips of the wings to the base of the stone, this is a bold statement piece with delicate details. This is the largest piece Larkin has made to date-- zooming in on the stone seemed in order!
Russian Leaf Earrings
product, processCommentLarkin is making progress on a custom wrap (holy two stones, Batman!) and taking some breaks to restock these dainty, sparkling russian leaf earrings. Only $12 dollars/pair and ready for shipment! If you're wondering if other colors are available, I should clearly give you a tour of Larkin's epic bead stash! ;)
Latest Cabochons
musings, processCommentLarkin's latest cabs! This lot is petrified wood (one with a polished face, one with rough grain as found), applegate jade, and yellow jasper/agate. I'm excited to see what becomes of this lot! New shapes, and, what's that? Matched cabs? What could it mean...? ;)
Channel Set Cuff Bracelet
process, musings, productCommentLarkin has been wanting to try channel setting and made this cuff bracelet out of copper and amethyst. It's a nice prototype and Larkin is thinking of making a few in silver, and maybe some rings in a similar style. What do you think-- is it a design worth playing with? Are there stones you'd like to see? :)
