laurieopal

Here are two more photographs of very different work. Please click on photos for the far better image.

This is carved white jade probably 19th century, set in bronze with a carved bronze dragon. I love old jade. Making a suitable dragon for it was serous work. It's from the collection of Nancy Cobb and is about 2" wide.

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This Austalian opal stick pin is carved in sterling and is about 1.5" high. It's a stunning small opal and is from the collection of Bayla Fine. Thanks to Kurt Siegel for the excellent photo: opals are difficult to photograph!

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These are two stones I'm thinking about. They are gorgeous in different ways. The agate is about 2.5" high and the chrysocolla is a little smaller but ir should be measured for width.

I bought a small shadow box that's made for food advertising because I couldn't get a good shot of the coin I made for Nisi Shawl for her forth coming book Kinning and also her previous book Everfair.  Everfair was the best book I read that year. Anyway the coin was, as I've said, a lot of precise work and I really wanted a photo. Fortunately it worked for an OK image. It will go up after she receives it.

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The agate shot with a million reflections of the LED lights in the box, so I shot it the usual way.  But the chrysocolla shot perfectly in the shadow box.  So, I'm learning something new about jewelry photographing again

I had started out wanting to photograph 3  tourmaline small rings stones that I've finished the designs for in wax. The had too  much reflection in the shadow box from small LED lights. And weren't very photographable without it, so I'll try again after they are rings in silver. They are pink, turquoise and green and I had wanted to show the variety of tourmaline color.  Maybe the rings will work well.

Lots more design work right now. Take care all.
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I did some more final work on the Everfair coin for Nisi Shawl. I'm obviously slightly obsessed. But all I need to do now is the coins edge and then it will be cast. I'll be celebrating.

I'm continuing to work on the Ethiopian opal discs and (among other things) deciding on the design for the Ray Mine silica and chaoyant malachite that I posted about a little while ago.


The pendant design is bronze and about 3" high. The Mescalero Jasper is exquisite. And the photo came out really well!. It's from the collection of Tracy Schmidt..

I think my Pandemic Shadow photos are about to start influencing some of my jewelry designs. It's going to be interesting to see how that works.

Back to the coin.

I'm polishing pendants tonight including one with a kuroit opal that has an internal design of black lines in the stone. The design setting is dark silver with 2 rubies that pick up red flashes in the opal.

I'm also putting chains on my octopus, dragons, lacework etc.  I'm starting to run out of energy for the night but I wanted to post here. and I have one more design I need to do some hand touches of polishing. I've developed some personal techniques for last touches on work.

Pendant is a jelly fish with an amber body and yellow sapphire and rosin pieces on the tentacles. The rosins were used in a botanical experiment, therefore the numbers etc behind the pieces. They added a surreal touch I really like.




It's about 3' high in sterling. From the collection of Bayla Fine

I've been working on polishing and waxes all day and am pretty well finished.  But I wanted to put up at least this one photo.  It's an astronomical with larimar and a blue diamond(far more brilliant then in this photo.)  Actual size it's about 1".  It was made for Wiscon but it went out the door about 24 hours after the stones were set.

I've been designing a necklace for ever that centers on two large antique crescent shaped patterned hoops that were made by hill people in South Asia.

The shapes and designs are very challenging but it's now completely finished in terms of the art and about 80% finished in terms of the tech. It actually needs a fitting in wax. This is a first for me for a necklace design. There will be some tiny diamonds set into some of the links as well (It's all dark silver.). The necklace pieces are both balanced, asymmetrical and varied and that has been part of the challenge. There will be a photo.

I've been working on the amber earrings with the bugs and they are coming along beautifully. And I've been design playing with a flat web like setting for a gorgeous boulder opal.

I'm still not over the bug but improving and spending a lot of time on wax. And getting tired of saying I've improving... I would like to simply be OK.