Private Stock Jewelry Studio: necklace

Sunday, August 23, 2009

New Hampshire Rhyolite

Every now and then you run into a stone that is just so beautiful and scenic it doesn't seem real. But, it is real Rhyolite Jasper is one of those stones you can find that doesn't cost an arm and two legs that is just plain awesome.

This is what makes jewelry making fun for me, finding stones like this that you really don't want to sell. But then for the right price. . . . .

Sometimes there are problems

Sometimes there are problems with the hues that the camera picks or doesn't pick up the true color. There are times when I try every type of light and angle I can think of and this is one of those times. I just can't get the color right.

Oh, poor me, lol.

May the Sun Be With You

This is the coolest sunshine jasper I've ever run across. Love it and it looks great all wrapped up and dripping in gold (14/20).

Snowflakes in August

More work to do, the store hosing some of my work is moving uptown to Washington Square. That makes for a great opportunity to update my pictures and index everything like I should have done a some time ago.

So today, I've spent most of the day taking pictures, cleaning and making a few adjustments. It's a perfect day in Portland!

Thursday, July 2, 2009

Woo-hoo

I'm exited to announce that Bead Trends is publishing one of my turquoise pieces in the December issue. (I rally am exicted)

The publisher requested that the piece be removed so I complied.

This has been an awesome week for me. I've had more good things happen than I could have imagined. I am very excited also how well the Home Based Jeweler's Showcase blog has been received. We are getting super traffic. If you haven't joined there is no time like the present. See the site for details.

Sunday, May 3, 2009

Mookaite jasper, also known as mookite, mookalite, mookerite,
moakite, moukalite and moukaite. However, mookaite is considered the correct
spelling and is named after the local area it comes from, Mooka Creek in the
Kennedy Ranges near Gascoyne Junction which is about 100 miles inland from the
coastal town of Carnarvon in Western Australia.
Mookaite is found only in Australia and is actually a fossiliferous sedimentary rock & it is reasonably common to find cavities left by decomposed belemnite casts or in some rare cases, impressions of ammonites. (Windalia Radiolarite) Microscopic examination shows this rock consists of the remains of tiny organisms known as radiolaria that have an unusual skeletal structure of opaline silica. Billions of these little critters were deposited as sediment in the shallow areas of ancient sea beds. When the seas retreated, these sediments were cemented into solid rock by silica carried in groundwater. The type and degree of silicification varies from place to place, forming opalite, chert and chalcedony.