Still Life With Twig

Next up in workshop results is what (I think?) is Larkin's most purely sculptural piece yet!

Larkin entirely hand-sculpted this pendant (I've been calling it Still Life With Twig 😅) from 0.925 sterling silver. It is truly three dimensional and can be appreciated from all angles!

The twig itself is impressively realistic, and made even more so by the cluster of cup lichen at its base. A wee silver inch worm making its way toward the bail is the perfect topping for this sweet little piece of nature-inspired art.

I suspect that the right person will know this unique piece needs to be theirs as soon as they see it!

Red Jasper Mushroom

Larkin is slowly putting final touches and polishes on the results of last week's workshop and we'll be listing them in the next few days! First up is this super sweet mushroom pendant.

Larkin cut this uniquely shaped red jasper cabochon from a stone found by our family in Humboldt County, California. All metalwork is done in 0.925 sterling silver. Larkin is having a small crisis of commitment after working in sterling at the workshop. They vastly prefer the color/quality of argentium, but it's not clear if the ease of working with metal at the workshop was entirely due to using sterling or the quality of the tools. Lots of experimentation ahead!

The sweet little rounded mushroom base frames a cluster of young mushrooms, and the back of the bezel setting features a trio of hand-cut and textured oak leaves.

Workshop Day One

First day of the Nicole Ringgold workshop! This is what's currently on Larkin's bench:

Also, a reminder that this workshop means that Larkin will not be at tomorrow's Rogue Valley Growers & Crafters Market, but will be there next week-- probably with some brand new treasures in tow. ;)

Mushroom Family Portrait

A sweet little mushroom family portrait!

Larkin formed the mushroom caps from copper and they can be kept polished bright or left to develop a natural patina over time.

The mushroom stems and veils/skirts (I learned these are called annuli!), and the frame are all shaped from argentium silver.

These little guys have so much personality! 🍄💕

Octopus's Garden Plume Agate

Larkin's latest portal looks like it leads straight into the Octopus's Garden!

Larkin cut this cabochon from a plume agate stone with striking red and yellow markings and two sparkling druzy pockets. The agate agate material means the cabochon is quite translucent when back-lit.

Tube coral stretches up from the bottom left of the solid silver frame, each tip painstakingly drilled to appear hollow and accented by a column of bubbles rising to the bail. Another coral plant on the right completes the front of the frame.

... Which brings us to the back, and a new element Larkin designed that I hope to be seeing again soon! Larkin sculpted a graceful row of pneumatocysts, the buoyant bubbles that keep kelp floating at the surface of the ocean.

This piece has a very dynamic, flowing feel for something made from cold, hard silver and stone!

It's A Match!

One of Larkin's market customers brought in one of their favorite earrings that had lost its mate wondering if Larkin might be able to make a new match. The job was a bit tricky since the original wire had thinned and changed shape over time as it was worn. Here is the finished pair, with Larkin's replacement on the right!

More Hair Pins!

Larkin is adding to their hair pin designs, with visions of similar designs as tie pins, hair clips, and cloak/shawl pins coming soon!

These are both designed in the bobby pin style, with the framing wire bent and shaped into waves for greater staying power.

Solid silver hair pins can be used alone for a small amount of hair (they will hold slightly more than a bobby pin and less than most barrettes) or added as decoration to a hair tie.

Silver Ivy Hair Pin

After losing a battle with kelp (silver kelp... more on that soon!), Larkin needed to switch gears for a bit and designed this super sweet, solid silver hair pin!

Larkin hand-shaped the ivy leaves from sheet metal and attached them to a beefy 12 gauge wire. They bent and shaped the wire into waves like a bobby pin for greater staying power, and balled the end for comfort.

This pin can be used alone for a small amount of hair (it will hold slightly more than a bobby pin and less than most barrettes) or added as decoration to a hair tie.

Here, Larkin's dad gamely demonstrates that, while this hair decoration is very versatile, it is not suitable for *all* hair types. 🤣

The hair pin measures 5.0 cm long and 2.4 cm at its widest point.

Serpentine Pond At Night

Larkin's latest piece is more of a figurative portal than a literal doorway, but it certainly transports you to the summertime banks of a pond under starry skies!

Larkin cut this cabochon from a piece of serpentine found by our family here in southern Oregon-- we thought it might be some of the gemmier applegate jade, but it turned out to be what we've been calling slightly "undercooked." Regardless, it's a beautiful, deep green stone with shiny flecks of magnetite.

Larkin framed the front with intricate, hand-shaped silver cattails, while the back includes a dragonfly resting for a moment on a twig. The mood of the piece is neatly complemented by a silver moon on the handmade bail.

While the cattails and leaves are not dangerously sharp, this piece *is* spiky and delicate! Care should be taken not to snag those lovely long leaves during wear.

Petrified Wood Portal

Larkin cut this cabochon from a piece of petrified wood found by our family near our home in southern Oregon. They left the front raw to highlight all the glorious woody texture while polishing the sides and back smooth and shiny. The rough front naturally left some gaps in the frame, which allowed Larkin space to add extra mushrooms and creeping ivy vines. A natural druzy seam is just barely visible making its way from the bottom ivy leaf on the left to the top mushroom cap on the right.

Larkin equipped this magical portal with a tiny handle and a matching bail of hammered sheet metal adorned with a tiny ivy sprig.

And... can we talk about that back for just a second? (Who am I kidding, I'm gonna! 😅) This kind of sculptural technique is brand new to Larkin as well as this piece!

The following photo of the back shows the twig Larkin used for inspiration, resulting in a fantastically realistic solid silver twig that neatly complements the roughness of the front of the stone.

This piece has such fantastically fine detail, it's hard to remember just how small it is! Larkin's grandparents always remark on the dainty size of Larkin's work when they see it in person after seeing it in photos, enlarged on their computer and phone screens. That quarter is about as wide as this piece! The frame and all sculptural elements are hand-fashioned from solid argentium silver that has been oxidized to highlight its dimensionality and polished.

Petrified Wood Doorway

Larkin has a series of these magical portals on the go, and the first is done!

This petrified wood doorway was cut from a stone found by our family near our home in southern Oregon. Petrified wood is so fun-- you never know what you might find when you cut into a piece! The stone and slab in the photos are part of the same piece of petrified wood as this finished cabochon.

We think the distinctive curly markings in this wood's grain were formed due to compression during mineralization. Here, I've circled a small vein of remarkably clear agate at the base of the cabochon.

Larkin's frame on this piece has a distinctly Tolkien-esque vibe, bringing to mind the wood elves of Mirkwood! Hand shaped leafing vines, a cluster of mushrooms, and the tree on the back are topped off with a matching custom bail. The silver is polished and sooooo shiny!

More Ivy Goodness!

Larkin forms the base of these gleaming earrings from a rectangle of hefty 20 gauge sheet metal, hammered to appear like a brick or stone base for the vining ivy. They then painstakingly texture, hand cut, vein and shape each leaf from silver. Each earring is topped with a hand-shaped 20 gauge silver ear wire.

The copper background is untreated and can be kept polished bright or allowed to develop a natural patina. The silver has been oxidized to highlight texture, then hand polished.

Each earring measures about 3.5 cm from the top of the ear wire to the tip of the lowest ivy leaf and and just over 1 cm at its widest point.

Ivy is often thought to symbolize strength (if you've ever tried to discourage ivy, you know why!), fidelity (it gets very attached!), and vitality. Bottom line: you can display your mettle with this gorgeously shaped metal. ;)

A Shiny Ring... And A Guarantee!

This shiny new moon ring is flying off to Michigan tomorrow to be part of someone’s 40th birthday celebration!

In other news, Larkin has added a sort of handshake-guarantee to their work! This is what they added to the Jewelry Care page:

My goal is to make beautiful, sturdy jewelry that will last a lifetime! Please contact me if you have any issues during normal daily wear.

I am happy to help maintain all Idle Talons work after it has been sold! Please contact me if you would like a something professionally cleaned and polished. Price will depend on the job— ranging from the price of postage for wire-only pieces, to a bit more for stone settings.

Sometimes tragedy strikes! If you accidentally slam your favorite pendant in a car door, or a pair of earrings gets bent out of shape when they were mistakenly put through the laundry cycle, contact me! Again, price will vary depending on the job, but I may be able to repair the damage. Include a picture of the piece in question so I can get a good idea of what might be required.

And if you lose a single earring? I will absolutely make you another single to match the remainder for half the price of a pair!

I truly want every customer to be happy with their purchase, so please don’t hesitate to contact me at idle.talons@gmail.com if you have any questions or concerns!

Superhero Poser

I realize I buried the lead on yesterday's post-- if you missed it and like seeing the process that goes into Larkin's work, check it out! If you don't want to wade through 20+ photos to the finished piece, these are for you. ;) Larkin's uncle thought it would make a fantastic superhero emblem. He's not wrong! (That's Larkin hiding behind him trying to position the piece in the proper superhero position🤣)

Winged Sunburst

I am still at the coast, avoiding the heat wave currently blasting the Idle Talons home studio, but Larkin has been sending me progress photos so I don't feel quite so out of touch. I thought y'all might enjoy a start-to-finish glimpse into what goes into one of Larkin's pieces as much as I do!

Spoiler: Larkin was going for dragon-worshipping-the-sun vibes.

First step after coming up with a concept: deciding on size! Larkin cut some wing templates out of cardboard to help with the decision.

The middle size seems Just Right. Bonus glimpse of grubby teen jeweler paws.

Another cardboard template, this time a sunburst!

For this kind of detailed work, Larkin cuts the template out of sticker paper so it can be applied to the metal and used as a cutting guide. Here you can also see all the pilot holes they drilled through the metal so their saw has a starting point.

40 minutes of painstaking cutting later, and the sunburst is all cut out!

Hand polishing/grinding gets all the little burrs and sharp spots out of the cut-out so its edges are rounded and smooth.

Last check with templates before committing silver!

Silver wings! Cut out and textured.

Adding spines to the wings. Every little connection point and detail is another opportunity for the torch to cause the metal to slump which would require starting the whole process over.

Details are starting to come together!

This piece got a full rainbow finish after first heat!

The back of a wing after torchwork. The scorching is such a neat effect-- it's too bad it won't stand up to smoothing/polishing.

Veining is all done-- now for more details!

The tip of each "finger" gets a hand-sculpted talon. You can see the top one is the only complete one in this photo.

Talons and tails are cut, shaped, and ready for soldering!

Copper sunburst, talons and tails are all in place. Just need to add some attachment points for a cord on the back.

Pickled (Larkin uses a hot citric acid bath) and cleaned/tumbled to remove the torch scorch. A bit of hand-polishing and it will be done!

Taaaaaadaaaaaaah!

A quarter for scale and cord attached through hidden bails to show how it will hang!

Batchwork

More prepping for in-person markets is occupying Larkin in the Idle Talons studio this week. There's something very satisfying about photos of batchwork... these not-yet-earrings make me want a tiny hand-blown glass vase in which to arrange them! It's always fun to see them next to their shiny, finished counterparts.

A Perfect Swarm

Apparently a still group of dragonflies is called a static swarm, as opposed to a migratory swarm if they're on the move. This swarm will be moving along soon! ;)

It still blows me away that these charred, dull-looking bits of metal turn out so delightfully shiny after pickling and polishing!

Rainbow Throwback

These beaded rainbow spirals were brought out of retirement at the request of someone who attended last month's pride event. Larkin doesn't do a lot of beadwork these days but enjoys re-visiting it now and then! These colorful bangles were sent off to their new home today.

… And I hear rumors of a morning glory vine ring on Larkin's workbench-- hopefully we'll see it soon!

Cat Tail Earrings

Cat tail earrings! Larkin really captured the essence of the plant with these hand-sculpted beauties! Available with either a silver or copper teardrop frame; silver is polished bright, copper is oxidized then Larkin hand-polishes the silver cat tails back to bright. No two are exactly identical, but they are all identically lovely! 😉

Posts may be a little slow because our family is split between two different states this month! Larkin and Emile are home where they can work while Jenny and Finn ran off to the coast to enjoy some cooler weather and time with grandparents. What does this have to do with Idle Talons? Well, I (Jenny) usually photograph and post Larkin's work so we are working out some kinks and delays!

On Applegate Jade Pond

This bucolic pond scene takes place over an “applegate jade” (bowenite) cabochon, modeled after the shape a drop of water forms when hanging from a large curved surface.

Larkin spent a lot of time studying water as it dripped from their fingertip as part of their lapidary shaping process! The stone is a deep green with grey and black inclusions, attracts a magnet, and is partially translucent when back-lit.

As usual, Larkin hand-sculpted all of the elements from silver wire and sheet metal, with a small copper ball at the center of the lily flower. The custom bail features a small lily pad and wandering vine.

This pendant measures 5.6 cm long (including the bail) and 4.0 cm at its widest point.