A new ring design! This time Larkin cut a crescent moon from sheet metal and embellished it with smokey whisps. The decoration does not extend all the way around the comfort band so the band is smooth and comfortable between the fingers. Larkin oxidized the silver dark and then the hand-polished the moon and silver swirls back to bright. The oxidation will wear off over time in areas that are against the skin, but should stay dark behind the decoration, giving the ring extra dimensionality.
Wild Rose Studs
fun, musings, process, productCommentLarkin has now made these sweet little wild roses in both silver and copper. And just in time... the roses here are in full, glorious bloom!
In the group photos, the copper has been un-polished for about a month and developed a natural patina. In the solo photo, the copper is straight out of the polisher. I think I prefer the patina, how about you?
First Tuesday!
fun, musings, process, product, venuesCommentTomorrow is first Tuesday! Larkin will be at the Rogue Valley Growers and Crafters Market in Ashland at their NEW LOCATION! While the armory is being remodeled the market will be held at 1554 Webster St., at the northwest corner of Ashland Street and Walker Avenue. https://ashland.news/rogue-valley-growers-market-moves-to-new-location/
Also, Larkin now has mushroom studs as singles, doubles, and clusters of three! While trying to figure out what to call a group of mushrooms, I found this internet gem from The Mushroom Journal: "Mushrooms that are in a close group but not close enough to be called a cluster are said to be in a troop. Mushrooms in a group that is a bit more scattered and irregular (loose discipline!) are said to be gregarious." Check out these gregarious lovelies!
Petrified Wood Terrarium
musings, process, product, funCommentLarkin created the stone base of this piece from agatized petrified wood found by our family here in Southern Oregon. They left the top raw to show the look and feel of the original wood and polished the rest of the cabochon to a domed shine. Larkin used a combination of bezel-setting and prong-setting techniques to achieve the desired hanging silver terarrium effect, and left the back open to maximize Cool Wood Visibility.
A cluster of three mushrooms peeks up from behind the stone, and a vine of hand-cut and textured ivy leaves climbs up one side. The pendant dangles freely from the custom mushroom bail (a great feature for jewelry... and a pain in the neck for photography!). The back:
Side note: this picture features a wee fir seedling with its bright green spring growth tips. I like the juxtaposition of the brand new wood with the so-old-it's-petrified wood in the piece.
Applegate Jade Witchy Portal
musings, process, productCommentAs promised, my New Favorite Piece! (Yes, most of Larkin's work briefly holds that title, but still...)
This is a super gemmy applegate jade (bowenite) cabochon that Larkin framed in silver vining ivy. Just look at that beautiful green glow it has when back-lit!
Larkin started the ivy leaves by texturing the sheet silver this time, which gives them an amazing veiny-looking surface. They are cut by hand from sheet metal, then the main veins added with a chisel (Larkin didn't have a chisel small enough so they fashioned one from a nail!).
I'm loving the custom bails Larkin has been adding lately-- this one features a crescent moon that accentuates the still night feeling of the piece. The back includes a fused silver tree with a moon in its branches (the picture of the back has the original stone in the background). The whole frame was oxidized dark, then the leaves, vines, and moon were hand-polished back to bright.
My photos don't do this piece justice... in real life there is more contrast between the darkly gleaming oxidized background silver and the bright polished silver features. The vines and leaves really gleam against the darker background metal, and the bright moon on the back positively glows in the dark tree branches.
This one has some serious dark, witchy vibes!
Throwback Thursday
fun, musings, process, productCommentWe haven't been sharing much here lately because Larkin is at that stage in their work cycle where they work on a whole bunch of stuff in parallel and finish everything all at once in a fit of industry (usually right before a market... yep, first Tuesday is coming up!). I'm pretty sure my New Favorite Wrap is almost done and will be shared soon!
Meanwhile, this popped up in my memories just in time for throwback Thursday... Larkin's very first market! This was four years ago today, when Larkin was 13. Pretty much everything here is beadwork, with two little wire pieces serving as harbingers of what was to come. No stonework at all since Larkin did not yet meet the age requirements at our local rock machine shop. They look a little more comfortable at markets these days.
Silver Dragonfly Earrings
fun, process, productCommentSilver dragonflies! These pretties went on a family hike with us yesterday and got some fun new photography backgrounds for their debut.
Larkin textured and hand-cut the wings, shaped the body with the torch and topped them off with swoopy 20 gauge ear wires.
On a (only-tangentially) hike-related note, did you know the only known bigfoot trap is located here in southern Oregon? Bonus photo of Larkin with their younger brother Finn inside the trap, because that's how we roll! 😅
Want to know more about the bigfoot trap? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bigfoot_trap
Agate Commission
musings, process, productCommentWe're all kind of in love with this commission Larkin just finished!
The cabochon is a large (we think it's Montana) agate with a raw edge and a substantial druzy layer. Larkin wanted to protect the cab with a robust frame, and the customer wanted an organic plant-y feeling design. Some leafing vines, a custom bail, a few mushrooms and a couple of wild roses really complement the stone beautifully!
Wild Rose Ring
fun, musings, process, productCommentLarkin is still tweaking this ring design. What do you think? It feels a bit more... industrial? than most of their work. Does it need something more flowy and viney or is something a little different fun?
Silver Vine With Stone Ring
fun, process, productCommentLarkin got a few new kinds of faceted stones to play with ring settings. This is a lavender cubic zirconium set into a silver ring with leafing vines. It's so sparkly! Larkin plans to make the same design with a few different stones.
The silver has been oxidized then mostly re-polished to bright, with the areas of dark behind the vines adding a bit of extra dimensionality.
Pay no attention to the awkward human trying to pretend they're a natural ring model. 😅
Not Rhodonite...
fun, musings, processCommentLarkin and Emile we're planning on hunting rhodonite with our local gem and mineral club yesterday, but the trip was changed so they opted to revisit a favorite local spot. They only brought home one rock... But what a rock! This giant petrified wood stump still needs some cleaning up, and may never be cut for jewelry work, but it will have a place of honor in our rock garden!
Rock and Gem Magazine on-line
funCommentHey-- check this out! An excerpt from the Rock & Gem article on Larkin's work has been published on-line!
Alien Serpentine
fun, musings, process, productCommentDo *you* want to believe?
Larkin sees a landscape in this blue-grey-green serpentine cabochon that has seen better days, perhaps due to the arrival of little green aliens.
The back is somehow hopeful, with silver stars twinkling through the branches of a tree. The black in the stone contains iron and will attract a magnet!
While it may take awhile for this piece to find its perfect home, we *do* believe that just the right fan of post-apocalyptic alien invasion fine jewelry is out there!
First Tuesday And A Ring Display
musings, process, venues, productCommentTomorrow is first Tuesday! If you're local, come say hi to Larkin at the Rogue Valley Growers & Crafters Market at the Ashland Armory from 9am -1:30pm. All the ring designing left Larkin in need of a ring display! Most of their displays feature natural elements from our hillside, and Larkin wanted these to fit in. A couple of hours, a little help from their dad, a chainsaw, super glue and some black felt resulted in this. A suitable addition to the Idle Talons booth :)
Silver Ivy Ring With Copper Leaves
fun, musings, process, productCommentLarkin made a variation of this silver ivy ring and it's amazing how a slight adjustment in materials and treatment can change the whole feel of a design! The original (right) is all silver and oxidized with the leaves polished back to bright. The new ring (left) has copper leaves for contrast and all the metal is polished bright. I don't know which I like more!
Applegate Jade Planet
musings, process, productCommentGet ready for something out of this world! ;)
You may remember this doublet that Larkin cut a couple of months ago-- really gemmy applegate jade (bowenite) is super dark, so Larkin sliced it very thin and backed it with a thicker slab of clear/white quartz to really make the green shine. Check out that picture of the stone back-lit!
Larkin laid out the planet’s silver ring so it would follow the naturally occuring line in the stone where it transitions from the lighter, sandier green at the bottom to the deep green at the top. Which brings us to that moon! Larkin shaped the hemisphere of silver and modeled the craters and markings from pictures of Earth’s moon!
Larkin loves the way the quartz back looks so didn't want to obscure too much of it-- silver ivy leaves climb a smaller crescent moon, complementing the feel of the front of the stone. A truly interstellar beauty!
Silver Ivy Ring
musings, process, productCommentLarkin has completed bazaar custom orders and is back to the fun of design work! Larkin embellished this solid argentium silver comfort band ring with an intricately hand-sculpted vine of ivy leaves. The leaves do not extend all the way around the ring so the band is smooth and comfortable between the fingers. Silver is oxidized dark and then Larkin hand-polished the leaves back to bright. The oxidation will wear off over time in areas that are against the skin, but should stay dark behind the leaves, giving them extra dimensionality.
This comfort band is 4mm wide. Hand model is Larkin's dad, Emile. :)
Silver Mushroom Stud Earrings
fun, musings, product, processCommentIt was only a matter of time...
Here at Idle Talons, we like to think we've carefully cultivated an audience full of friendly people who find it desirable to appear as if they have fungus growing out of their head. Amiright?
Larkin is busy wrapping up bazaar business this week, but had to to take a break to create these awesome little silver mushroom cluster stud earrings. They are so sweet, and sure to be a conversation starter at all the wild mycologist parties.
Rosy Garden Gate
musings, process, product, venuesLarkin managed to clean up yesterday's... well, learning experience 😅... and finish up this piece! This stone is an opalized petrified wood found by our family in southern Oregon. Larkin loved the way the surface retained the wood texture and grain so they left it rough and polished the sides and back to expose the creamy common opal interior.
The vining wild roses are modeled after the roses that grow in our woods and are hand-shaped from copper with silver centers. The copper mushrooms and roses are untreated and can be kept polished bright or left to develop a natural patina over time.
The silver knob is inserted through a hole drilled in the cab and fastened securely on the back so no adhesives were needed. The silver frame and window on the back completes the look of a magical portal!
If you haven’t had a chance yet, check out this and all the other goodies at https://www.royaboyahandmadebazaar.com/ !
Catastrophe!
musings, process, product, venuesCommentAaaaagh! Larkin had this frame at the final stage before tying the stone in when this happened. A polishing wheel got tangled in wire and wonked it all up! All the silver had already been hardened into final positions, so it will all have to be re-annealed and shaped. After initial tearing of hair and gnashing of teeth, Larkin thinks they can get it fixed and posted over at the Royaboya Handmade Bazaar soon.
Thankfully, no fingers were harmed in this learning experience.
