Inlaid stones and bone

I love cabochons inlaid with other stones - or bones. One of my favorite lapidary artists and goldsmiths is Michael Boyd, whose creations are astonishing; he layers gemstone over gemstone set in gold and silver, to create lavish and yet somehow organic jewelry.

His work introduced me to Arizona black jade, which is a delight to cut and polish. I think everyone buys it from a quirky guy named Robert at Sweetwater Mine. I regret I haven't kept any of my earliest pieces, but several are with friends and family - and I still have some nice rough to work with. Black jade cuts easily but polishes to a lovely glassy shine quickly; the natural unpolished rind is so beautiful, I often leave it natural and just polish the sides.

When muse-friend Debra gave me a little carved bone moon face and some cubic zirconia to play with, I knew I had to make a "Moon and Stars" piece. Here is my very first Arizona black jade piece, and I hope to return to the cutting wheels again soon; you can see the nice texture of the rind and the highly polished edges above the bezel:

I also made this piece very early in my jewelrymaking, for Debra - combining flat carnelian beads with Arizona Sleeping Beauty turquoise (including a cabachon 'inlay' aided by epoxy) in "East Meets West":

Earth Treasures Collection

Pieces from Earth Treasures Collection, sold at galleries in the West from 2006 - 2008:

• Carnelian twist
• Agate and amber
• Picasso jasper
• Owyhee jasper and amber
• Rattlesnake jasper and faceted citrine
• Old Montana agates; amber earrings

Found objects - Travelers' Treasures Collection

These two pieces represent art made from treasures found while traveling. Pieces such as this can be some of the most treasured we have . . . with each bit reminding us of a moment, a place, a person.

Although created 10 years apart, they ironically were each inspired by focal points found along England's southern coast . . . a piece of green sea glass from near Dover, and a small granite beach cobble worn with a perfect hole.

• Olde England: Hastings bedrock granite pebble bead, made by the Atlantic, found last year (2008); feathers from a garden rook and an African lilac-breasted roller (we were en route back from an East Africa trip, stopping to see friends in Hastings), English coins, blue beach glass, obsidian, fossil ivory (from England), and amber, including an earring whose mate I lost on that same trip.

• Seaside England: Ten years earlier I had found the lovely tumbled green glass on a walk along the Dover shore; I drilled it, and used lilac waxed cotton to string pearls, seashells, and painted/dyed fish vertebrae beads from an old Seri Indian necklace bought along the Sea of Cortez on a trip with the same English friends we were with in Dover.

Do you have treasures from your travels? I will do commissions upon request. Please email me at this address.

Copper Fire Collection

Pieces from my Copper Fire Collection (sold, or in my own collection). From the top:

• Rainbow hematite shard, heat-patinated copper
• Ammonite and garnet, heat-patinated copper
• Rainbow hematite on copper disks with iolite and garnet accents
• Ammonite and quartz, heat-patinated copper

 

Copper shield and rainbow hematite

This is one of the first pieces of jewelry I made several years ago, a heat-patinaed copper shield inspired by a triangle of rainbow hematite from Robert at Sweetwater Minerals. The hematite is a wonderful mix of irridescense and texture, with a clear horizontal slash and surficial droplets of silvery pyrite inclusion. I mimicked the pyrite droplets with balls of silver, slightly flattened, and a top bar of silver balls. The color comes from heating the copper until it is nearly red, then quenching quickly in cold water. The results are never certain, which is part of the fun. Sometimes the color (which is oxidized minerals drawn out in the copper as it heats) flakes off, and sometimes it stays magically in place. In what became a series of copper shield pendants with the purple-blue hematite and cut ammonites, I was always aiming to capture the beautiful blues and purples. The necklace is one of my Bella Bolas, a 15-inch length of hand-woven calfskin with sterling end caps and hooks that can be used on many different necklace types that I developed.

Ancient Seas Collection

From early work combining beadwork and fossils or amber. From the top:

• Hundreds of amber beads strung on waxed linen, then woven into a 'nest' necklace.
• The first ammonite I worked with, glued to leather and surrounded with stitched and woven vintage crystal, amber, and stone beads, with a matching beadwork necklace and seashell accent. 
• A piece of fossilized coral with a beadwork necklace of pearls, fluorite, and carnelian chips.
• Fossil orthocereus shell drop, paired with a smokey quartz cabachon affixed to leather and beaded with vintage tube and crystal beads.