Category: Lapidary

• Late Autumn Moon

  We had rain for the Full Moon, which is unusual for October.  Here’s the moon a couple of days before that, with high clouds and rings that told of the coming storm. Halloween will mark the end of autumn and is the night when the creeks turn black for the beginning of winter.  These last few days…

  ironwing

  October 26, 2010

  Iron & Metalwork, Lapidary, Nature

• Copper Ore Necklace

  Primitive elegance:  This Copper Ore Necklace has a curved, articulated collar-type neckpiece of forged 6, 12, and 14-gauge copper wire with handmade copper ore beads.  The front pendant is 1.75 inches long.  Its is made of three metallic ores.  All are rather soft and are usually found only in small pieces, so they are rarely made into beads, though they are…

  ironwing

  October 13, 2010

  Iron & Metalwork, Lapidary

• Earrings for Me

  I made these for myself – they are very plain and rather dull, but I like them for everyday wear with neutral colors.  I carved the stone beads from a pebble that I found in the Empire Mountains, and wrapped them with black steel wire and antique African iron bicone beads.  The stone is an…

  ironwing

  August 17, 2010

  Iron & Metalwork, Lapidary

• Picture Jasper Big Cat Claw

  Finally finished this Picture Jasper Big Cat Claw necklace.  The Oregon jasper pendant is 2 inches long and is about actual size for a large lion claw.  It is carved in low relief in front with a flat back (the slice wasn’t thick enough to carve both sides in relief) and has a soft polish.  The…

  ironwing

  July 31, 2010

  Cats, Iron & Metalwork, Lapidary

• Picture Jasper Pendants

  I just finished two Oregon picture jasper amulet pendants.  Both are completely reversible and feature double-sided hand-polished discs (a soft polish, since this particular slab didn’t take a mirror shine).  It’s rare to find picture jasper with attractive “scenes” in the same places on both sides of the slab, so cabochons are usually cut with a…

  ironwing

  July 3, 2010

  Cats, Iron & Metalwork, Lapidary

• A Silver Ring and a Plant List

  I finished this ring yesterday.  Melting Ice – forged sterling silver, fine silver bezel, red gold, faceted aquamarine, hand-polished cabochon of Chinese “Imperial Blue” waterline agate.  The agate is a new material that has only been on the gem market for about six months, and this is the first stone that I’ve cut from it. …

  ironwing

  June 10, 2010

  Iron & Metalwork, Lapidary, Nature

• Sunrise Moon Pendant

  I cut this cabochon from the same Brazilian agate slab as the Two of Hearts pendant.  It’s smaller, a bit more colorful, and is a traditional low-dome, flat-backed cab, a bit less than one inch in diameter.  Sanded and polished by hand.  The subtle peach, yellow, tan, and white swirls, with a tiny round pale…

  ironwing

  June 7, 2010

  Iron & Metalwork, Lapidary

• Jade Cat Claw

  Green Cat Claw.  A bluish-green to black mixture of fine-grained nephrite jade and coarse-grained amphibolite with minor serpentine and microscopic magnetite octahedra.  This odd stone comes from Victorville, CA  in the Mojave Desert and is not a typical California jade.  Strictly speaking, the coarser-grained dark material isn’t “jade” at all, though the mineralogy is the same. …

  ironwing

  May 18, 2010

  Cats, Lapidary

• Two of Hearts – Agate Amulet

  This Two of Hearts Amulet is made from 14-gauge copper and black steel wire, with a double-sided cabochon that I cut from the center of a slab of translucent white Brazilian agate.  The heart-shaped design in the stone is completely natural and literally represents the “heart” of a thunderegg (a solid round agate nodule).  It’s…

  ironwing

  March 31, 2010

  Iron & Metalwork, Lapidary, Uncategorized

• Egg Tempera Paintings for Sale

  As the moon wanes, I’m selling the last copies of the Ironwing Tarot Major Arcana (two copies left as of this morning), and putting several egg tempera paintings up for sale on my website HERE.  None of them are new (I haven’t done any painting in nearly two years, due to other drawing projects, more…

  ironwing

  February 11, 2010

  Lapidary, Nature, Paintings: mineral pigments in egg tempera