I got back to Quartzsite, AZ about two weeks ago and couldn’t wait to get back in the lapidary shop!
Even though I had enough material to work for this entire season(and probably enough for a few more after that!) when I headed back east last spring, that didn’t stop me from buying more.
During the spring and summer months, I bought a beautiful slab of Amethyst Sage Agate, a small slab of Blue Mountain Jasper, and even a little piece of fossilized dinosaur bone. Then, within days of arriving here in Quartzsite, I just had to wander over to the Desert Gardens Rock Showgrounds to see the early arrivals. I ended up picking up about $100 in rock from Jeff Hill of Silver Hill Lapidary, who always has mouth watering goods. So, let’s just say I was set to get busy.
One thing that came as a surprise, once I started cutting stones, was that the time I was “away from the wheels” had allowed me the ability to take a step back and be more aware, for lack of a better word, as I worked a stone. I found I was now more able to understand the process of how my efforts impacted the cabochon as I worked on it; how the importance of getting the shape right(and the scratches out!) while working with the 80 and 220 grit wheels makes the difference between an *okay* cab and a “pretty damned nice, if I say so myself” one(I have a way to go before I dare say I am turning out professional caliber cabochons, even though I DO see that I have paid for plenty of cabs of lower work quality that I am currently capable of).
Last year, I just didn’t get it, and my gawd, I would spend so.much.time. beating away on the 320 and 600 wheels on the Lortone machines at the Quartzsite Roadrunners lapidary shop. I am now going through all stages of shaping the cab(not including cutting preform on the trim saw) in less than an hour per cab. Pros will laugh, but this is a huge reduction in work time for me.
One interesting thing was that I DID join a rock club in New York this summer, and they had Diamond Pacific cab machines, which are generally regarded as the best available. Though I was only able to make a few cabs there(I became frustrated at the lack of available access to the shop and quit), the difference was immense. When I got to Quartzsite, there was a big surprise waiting for me…. they had gotten a Genie! Just one, but when I can get on it, I do, and the results have been such an improvement.
Now for the interesting part….I’m able to get *almost* the same level of quality out of the other machines that I considered so inferior last year. Though I DID end up taking the piece in the picture below to the Genie, I honestly was almost – not quite, but close – to this polish before doing so.
That can only mean that, like a camera, it’s the user that defines the product. Having a great machine is nice, but if you don’t learn how to work it, the results won’t be any different than on lesser equipment. Nonetheless – I still want a Diamond Pacific Titan for myself back home…..
Along with my newfound clarity as a lapidarian(yes, it IS a real word, though I thought I was making it up when I wrote it). I had saved some money for materials. Let’s hope I still have some at my disposal once the rock shows here are in full swing, but along with that hundie to Jeff Hill, I stopped at a rock shop in Wisconsin on my way west.
I had purchased a set of templates online from The Gem Shop during the summer, and realized they had a brick and mortar store that was literally on.the.way. to my sister’s house. They have a basement, and large amount of outdoors space allotted to rough materials in so many types of rock, and it was nearly overwhelming. Luckily, as I was looking around trying to get some bearings on the massive inventory, my mind saw a bin labeled “Wild Horse Picture Jasper,” and that bin was like a magnet, drawing me in…. The piece above was cut from rough in that bin, as was the one below. I got one more cab from the slab, and that was just one slab from a fairly small rock. I still have two more cabs to come from the slab, although they won’t have the blue “sky,” and I think I have 3 or 4 more slabs. That means I’ll get at least 10 good cabs, and perhaps as many as 20, from the one rough rock. I’ll use them in pendants, and to be honest, I’ll make my money back in the first one sold. KaChing!
Along with the Wild Horse Jasper, I got a small piece of Owyhee(the top image in this post came from that delicious little rock), and a small Ocean Jasper rock which this cabochon has come out of.
Initially I felt disappointed, because I was expecting the more intense colors that I had seen from other lapidary folks, but once I finished this cab, and saw the pretty, almost pastel, colors, I wished I had bought more. I’m going to give them a call and see what they are bringing to the QIA Pow Wow, which is on in a few weeks, and hopefully can ask them to bring some….
I also bought a slab of Sonoran Dendritic Rhyolite, and so far have cut just the one cab shown below. The material is much softer than I expected. It’s gorgeous, but I wonder if I can do it justice. I didn’t get the polish that I have seen from others, and don’t know what I need to do to get it.
As for jewelry making, that’s been off to a slower start since arriving here. I have one piece ready for antiquing, and am working on a gorgeous piece of Deschutes Japser that I cabbed out of material bought from Jeff Hill. He’s got more where this has come from – and I intend to get some!
As you can see(er…read) I’m having a fantastic time, and should have a LOT of nice pendants to show for it as I use the cabs I am making. Remember I mentioned some Blue Mountain Jasper earlier? Well – here are two of the cabs cut from the slab and in the works – I hope to finish them on my next session on Friday, and then the tough part – which one to work into a pendant first???? I think the taller, thin one.
So – new things happening daily! The best way to stay up to date is via my Instagram, where I show my work as it progresses, and announce New To Shop available pieces. If you’re interested – follow me at Instagram.com/TalismanToo.
