Gleaming Leaves

New leaves going up in the next day or so-- including Larkin's first two pairs of leaf earrings! These are truly a labor of love-- it turns out making small, matching cabochons is not for the faint of heart. I was wondering if stone earrings would be heavy, but each of the larger applegate jade earrings weighs less than a quarter.

There are also two more applegate jade pendants here-- they've been hard to keep in stock! I questioned the choice of blue aventurine for the small pendant, but Larkin started singing Harry Chapin's "Flowers Are Red" at me and I have been suitably chastised. (Look it up if you don't know the song-- heartbreaking!)

Sunset Sodalite Wings

Larkin cut this cabochon from sunset sodalite, so named due to the areas of pink/peach in the otherwise brilliant blue stone. Sunset sodalite is said to bring its wearer clarity, strength, and confidence.

With a wingspan of 14.5 cm and a drop of almost 8 cm from the tips of the wings to the base of the stone, this is a bold statement piece with delicate details. This is the largest piece Larkin has made to date-- zooming in on the stone seemed in order!

Russian Leaf Earrings

Larkin is making progress on a custom wrap (holy two stones, Batman!) and taking some breaks to restock these dainty, sparkling russian leaf earrings. Only $12 dollars/pair and ready for shipment! If you're wondering if other colors are available, I should clearly give you a tour of Larkin's epic bead stash! ;)

Latest Cabochons

Larkin's latest cabs! This lot is petrified wood (one with a polished face, one with rough grain as found), applegate jade, and yellow jasper/agate. I'm excited to see what becomes of this lot! New shapes, and, what's that? Matched cabs? What could it mean...? ;)

Channel Set Cuff Bracelet

Larkin has been wanting to try channel setting and made this cuff bracelet out of copper and amethyst. It's a nice prototype and Larkin is thinking of making a few in silver, and maybe some rings in a similar style. What do you think-- is it a design worth playing with? Are there stones you'd like to see? :)

Biggs Jasper Tree of Life

This piece was made from the very first cabochon that Larkin cut and polished! The story goes that the instructor at the rock shop gave the students common oval rough cut stones to learn on (very practical), but Larkin's first piece broke off its dop stick so they replaced it with a pretty gorgeous rough cut teardrop piece of black banded jasper.

The beautiful patterning on the stone is subtle and jumps out in direct light, while the stone appears almost obsidian black in the shade. The frame is shaped from copper which has been oxidized and polished until it gleams, adding amazing depth and texture to the piece. The tree is formed from bright silver that stands out brilliantly against the darker frame and stone.

Snail Charms

These oh-so-charming snail charms just went up! Chock full of whimsy and personality, these lovelies can be made in copper or silver. Larkin solders the copper, then oxidizes and polishes it until gleaming. Silver is fused and polished bright.

Breezy Moss Agate Scroll

Another petite cabochon, this time about the size of a dime on the long axis. The moss agate stone has amazing detail, difficult to capture in a photograph! The spiraling silver scrollwork is positively luminous and frames the stone beautifully.

Ocean Cliff Chert

Larkin cut this blue-green chert cabochon from a stone found by the ocean in northern California. Wrapped mostly in copper, an argentium silver wire follows the most prominent veins in the stone. Accent beads are copper and silver.

Breezy Chert Scroll

Larkin cut this petite cabochon from a last corner of this beautiful pale blue-green chert we found in northern California. The cab, slightly smaller than a penny, has a vein of quartz cutting across one side. The spiral scrollwork gives the wrap a light, ephemeral feeling, but this adornment of copper and stone is deceptively solid!

Support Youth Art

Today, something a little different. Zoi the Creative is another teen artist whose work we learned about through the unschooling community. Her pieces celebrating Black History Month are some of my favorites. Check it out-- gorgeous stuff! https://www.artbyzoi.com/ and on instagram: https://www.instagram.com/artbyzoi/

Rose Quartz/Obsidian Doublet

Larkin formed this doublet cabochon by backing a piece of rose quartz with obsidian, resulting in a gorgeous combination that really shows off the flash and detail in the quartz. Wrapped in argentium silver to complement the flowing, underwater feel of the stone.

Lace Agate Gate

Larkin wanted to play with a door/gate design similar in organic feel to the leaves, and here is the prototype! Even the jump ring was soldered to complement the piece. Larkin has some ideas to modify the design, but I like how this arched lace agate cab looks like a gateway into a secret garden!

Going On A Jade Hunt

We drove out to the Applegate yesterday, mostly for recreational reasons-- we never even saw another human outside of a car! For Larkin and Emile recreation = rockhounding. I am not, however, sure that Larkin's yoga swing rockhounding is going to catch on. ;)

They were wildly successful-- there are some super promising (BIG!) chunks of applegate jade I can't wait to see cut! I'm glad they knew what to look for after a trip out with the local rock club-- applegate jade almost always comes with a nondescript brownish crust that looks nothing like the gorgeous, glowing green stone within.

Ocean View Jasper

Larkin cut this cabochon from a jasper stone we found near our home in southern Oregon. Larkin sees the crown of a tree in the foreground at the top, with beach, water, and sky below. What do you see? The negative space in the wrap neatly mirrors the negative space cut in the stone.

All photos are taken with the stone from which the cab was cut-- I love the way the copper wrap beautifully takes the place of the copper-colored crust on the rough stone. Bonus shot of my heckling, cackling audience as I tried to take photos: "Can we eats it, my precious?"

Leaves, Glorious Leaves!

More leaves! These will be going live this evening as my churlish computer allows. ;) From top to bottom: applegate jade, serpentine, moss agate, green aventurine, chert, yellow jasper, mahogany obsidian. Also included a view of the backs since I don't think I've done that before. I learned that the leaf shape Larkin cuts these stones in is almost impossible to find at rock shops because the concave curves are difficult to achieve on polishing wheels-- traditional cabs have all convex curves. No wonder these always seem so unique! Larkin is now switching gears to a more complex wrap.

Layered Cab

Another day cutting and polishing cabochons! Larkin is playing with a new technique, inspired by a slab of rose quartz that is quite transparent when cut. Larkin backed it with a thin slice of obsidian so more of the color shows, including a couple of areas of blue flash that are apparently quite rare! Two of today's cabs are already wrapped into leaves, and most of these will follow suit. 

Copper-Veined Leaves Re-Stock

Larkin has been having a hard time keeping these copper-veined leaves in stock, and I can see why! These are hitting the shop today. Clockwise from top left: applegate jade, red jasper/agate, grossular garnet, applegate jade, red jasper. All found locally and cut, polished, and wrapped by Larkin!

Silver Fox

A customer saw the fox and loved it, but wanted it done in bright silver! This wrap will be on its way to its new home tomorrow.

Amphibious Kambaba Jasper

Throw back... Friday? This piece has a soft spot in my heart. The stone is a purchased kambaba jasper cabochon. I think it looks like it's held in by froggy fingers, and I swear that's Kermit's silhouette on the back! Some people have said it reminds them of the painting "The Scream" and I can definitely see that too (although it's harder to explain Kermit's presence). Someday, this piece will find its perfect person who loves the amphibious whimsey... or perhaps someone who is a big Edvard Munch fan... or maybe someone who is dying for an excuse to work "kambaba jasper" into more conversations (go ahead, say it-- it's fun!).