Applegate Jade Doublet

Today's experiment was another doublet (well, technically doublets take multiple days due to the time it takes for the epoxy to cure, but bear with me 😅). Larkin backed a very thin disk of the deep, gemmy applegate jade with quartz. Such thin stone is very brittle on its own, so the quartz helps to stabilize it, and the clear/white allows the green to really shine!

In the first picture you can see how thin the layer of green stone really is where it meets the quartz-- and that's the raw applegate jade in the background! The top view shows the cab perched on a hunk of petrified wood.

Leaf Cabs

Larkin put in a lot of time on the Genie the last couple of days making all these leaves! Most of these are paired to be leaf earrings-- getting the stone and shape to match well definitely adds some time and challenge to the process. There's lots of applegate jade here, some really deep gemmy stone and some that have more inclusions, jasper, serpentine, and that banded red-pink jasper/agate.

Rose Quartz Moon

A new wrap! And, dare I say, worth the wait! ;) Larkin cut this round cabochon from a slab of rose quartz that was cut diagonal to a band of clearer quartz. When domed and polished, the cab contains a distinctive moon shape! The stone's true color is best depicted in this picture, taken in full sun.

Larkin framed this piece almost entirely in silver with a contrasting arch of copper in the frame on the non-wrapped edge. The back is fashioned to suit the front, with a silver crescent moon and a curling vine with copper leaves. I keep thinking this piece evokes a fairy moon from an ancient illuminated manuscript!

Flex Shaft

One of Larkin's new toys (<ahem>, I mean tools) is a flex shaft. For those of you who (like me) are new to all things jewelry making, it's kind of like a wired dremel with a smaller, pen-like body for greater control and dexterity. It's operated with a foot pedal, like a sewing machine, leaving both hands free to manipulate whatever you're working on.

Also like a dremel, it has lots of interchangeable bits for sculpting and polishing metal and stone. Larkin has been wanting to play with setting faceted stones, and here is a first try at flush setting a lab-created garnet in scrap copper.

This tool opens up a ton of new possibilities and I can't wait to see what comes next!

What We Did On Our Winter Vacation

First things first, Larkin turned 17! Woot! And yes, the candle math works out on the birthday popsicle because we lit the popsicle stick on fire when we ran out of candles.

Then we were snowed in for a week as the result of a very uncharacteristically serious snowstorm for our area. Larkin and their younger brother, Finn, made a pretty epic sled run down our driveway and built an ice cave around a large hole so that it is (wait for it...) much bigger on the inside than it is on the outside! Snow here almost always means several days without electricity, so we drank a lot beverages heated on the wood stove and played many rounds of card and board games by solar lantern.

The biggest Idle Talons news came in the form of an *amazing* offer by a neighbor in our local Buy Nothing group! This ginormous, 3-piece, just because it's in 3 pieces doesn't make it any lighter, BEAUTIFUL (have I mentioned heavy?) desk is well on its way to being converted to the jeweler's bench Larkin has been dreaming of!

Moving that sucker upstairs, then reorganizing Larkin's workspace almost entirely into it has been an enormous job, but obviously worth it as Larkin kept being distracted by having so many tools easily to hand and pausing set-up to try out new ideas.

A new wrap is in the works, as well as lots of fun new experiments that will expand Larkin's repertoire considerably. Stay tuned!

Purrfect Earrings

Hi everyone! We took a bit of a social media break over the holidays, but will have a longer update soon about some exciting new additions to the Idle Talons studio. We hope this finds you happy and healthy in the new year!

Meanwhile, Larkin recently had a request for some wire cats and these silver line art lovelies turned out pretty charming!

Bowling For... Hummingbirds?

Larkin's top favorite bowling alley employee is an amazing guy. He takes donated equipment from more experienced bowlers and passes them on to kids-- it is *amazing* to see kids improve when they have their own custom-fit bowling balls and shoes! He knows *everyone's* names, loves the game, and wants everyone to succeed. He's not a jewelry guy, but Larkin found out his wife has a soft spot for hummingbirds and designed this sweet little pendant especially for her. Cheers to Ken!

Humboldt Chert Shell

Here's a new piece hot off Larkin's workbench! Larkin cut this beautiful blue-green cab from a chert stone our family found on the northern California coast. Larkin wanted the wrap to have an aquatic shell kind of feel, very appropriate for a stone formed by oceanic processes! Larkin shaped the frame with a combination of wrapping and soldering argentium silver. Larkin oxidized the wrap, then polished the exposed wire back to shining to give it a bit more depth and dimension.

Vining Rose Doublet

Hot off the workbench! This piece is currently exclusively available over at the Royaboya Handmade Bazaar! There's also a poll going in that group and Larkin might win a prize if you respond that we're the ones who sent you there! (Shameless, huh?)

This cabochon is a doublet that Larkin formed from a face of rose quartz backed by obsidian, resulting in a really unique grey-lavender tone. Wrapped in argentium silver roses and vines, the back is simple to showcase the translucence of the stones. The bail is designed so the cord will thread through the looping vines.

And, yes! That second picture is backlit-- the stones look So. Cool!

Green Lagoon Applegate Jade

Larkin cut this cabochon from a piece of applegate jade found by our family in southern Oregon. Some of the stone’s crust is included at the bottom of the cab and we keep seeing a frog-like face: a creature from the green lagoon!

The main frame is sculpted, wrapped and soldered from copper wire, and the back plate is fused and wrapped in argentium silver wire. I can't decide whether the back looks more like kelp or a Tolkien-esque tree! Plus, the stone glows brilliantly when backlit— this is a gorgeous piece from any angle!

This piece and much more will be featured this evening at Larkin's trunk show with Dancing Beads! Tune in at 7 to see what's new :)

Agate Bouquet

This agate cabochon was a gift from a neighbor whose father did lapidary work in the 1960s. Its face is much flatter than most of Larkin's cabs and encapsulates a perfect still-life bouquet. Larkin thought that an oxidized copper frame without distracting embellishments would best highlight the beauty of the stone.

New Leaves!

Amidst all the recent exciting publicity, Larkin has been hard at work! Larkin rough cuts each of these stone leaves into its unique shape, then grinds and polishes the domed cabs to shiny perfection. A small hand-filed score at the tip of each leaf ensures the surrounding wires stay in place. Larkin then individually sculpts the stems and veins from copper wire and solder, pickles the result to cleanse it of any torch scorches, secures it to the intended leaf, dips the piece in liver of sulphur to oxidize it dark, and polishes to gleaming.

Each leaf is unique in more ways than one-- I've never seen another jeweler make anything like these! I think a fan said it best when they proclaimed these lovelies as "a pendant any hobbit would be proud to receive from Galadriel."

Rock & Gem Magazine Article

Today we made a special trip to Crater Rock Museum between bowling practices just to pick up real, paper copies of the December issue of Rock & Gem Magazine. Why, you ask? Because there's a four page article on Larkin's work!!! So much gratitude to Jim Landon who reached out to us about writing an article after finding Larkin's work on-line! (Also thanks to Larkin who gamely let me set up the young Einstein jeweler photo 🤣)

Rose Stud Earrings

Larkin is stocking up on these silver rose stud earrings. These are all shaped entirely freehand and no two are exactly alike, but all are perfectly lovely! This gleaming handful of shiny pretties will be featured at the Dancing Beads trunk show on the 30th!

Galactic Sodalite

Larkin's latest piece is this brilliant blue sodalite framed with a combination of wrapping and fusing in argentium silver. I said the stone in the wrap looked positively galactic with timey-wimey space waves and swirls and now I think Larkin is looking for a new copy writer. 😅 I didn't even point out that the blue in the stone was, in fact, TARDIS blue...

Vining Applegate Jade

Another piece using one of my favorite applegate jades found by our family! This particular swirly green stone has veins of translucence, but is mostly opaque. The picture with a gravel background was taken in direct sun and best shows the colors and patterns in the stone.

Oh yeah, and it's not *all* about the stone. 😅 Larkin set the cab in gleaming silver that has been shaped, fused, and wrapped into its final form. It's like an explosion of new growth! Measuring in at 6.6 cm long and 6 cm at its widest point, this is a gorgeous, bold statement piece.

Idle Talons News Update

There's a new "about the artist" page up here on the Idle Talons website! If you're new here, it might answer some questions about Larkin's craft. :) And Larkin is gratefully taking suggestions if there's something else you'd like to know! https://www.idletalons.com/about-the-artist

We've been trying hard not to put the cart before the horse, but a national lapidary magazine is due to publish an article about Larkin's work in their December issue!!! This issue may come out as soon as November 1, so if you've had your eye on a particular piece you may want to make your move before Idle Talons is brought to the attention of a much wider audience! More info on the article when we have it in our hot little hands!

Applegate Jade Tree

We’ve been calling this stone “half-cooked” applegate jade— it’s a beautiful green base with orange-yellow speckles, and is translucent at the thin edges of the cabochon.

Larkin has been frustrated with how messy the back of a tree of life usually is since each branch needs to be individually tied off on the back of the piece. For this piece, Larkin soldered each of the 72 wire ends of the copper tree to the inside of the frame, allowing a more decorative back than usual. This took a Very Long Time and may or may not ever happen again.

The twisted rope and tire swing are constructed from argentium silver— and the swing actually swings from the branch!

Lavender Quartz Jellyfish

Larkin cut this uniquely shaped cabochon from a rose quartz stone with more flashy blue in it than most, which the folks at our local rock shop affectionately dubbed “lavender” quartz. The frame and curling tendrils are constructed with a combination of wrapping and fusing, resulting in a piece that is amazingly sturdy while capturing the dainty, ethereal spirit of a jellyfish! Even the back features whimsical underwater bubbles!

Those spiraling tendrils were a labor of love! Larkin flattened 14 gauge wire slightly with the rolling mill, softened them with the torch and rounded the ends, shaped the curls, trimmed them with the jeweler's cab, filed the ends to fit the edge of the wrap exactly, then fused them to the frame while keeping all fingers and toes crossed that none of the metal was going to slump. Just in case you were wondering.

New Dragon Eyes

Larkin has been restocking dragon eyes! These are always most popular at in-person events and I can't help but think that's because it's so hard to capture their detail and personality in photos.