This post will feature new pieces and new stones. With all the Holiday shopping frenzy going on, the studio has been busier than ever. This month in particular has been quite tumultuous, between the hurricane, losing power, having the near-lack of a car or transportation of any kind, constant guests, and gearing up for the Holiday season. I want to thank you ALL for bearing with me if I’ve been at all disorderly. Regular Preview posts will now resume before new items hit either shop (instead of listing one new item every few days unannounced). Rock Appreciation Day will be posted once again on the First of December, along with secret special details. I hope you all enjoy the new lovelies I’ve been hammering away at. Other pieces in the near future will include an Icarus Ring, Storm Earrings, ornate dangles for tunnels, more of the To Make Much of Time and Towards Mountains series, and more! During the Holiday season, its best to take a few breathers. Remember what and who are important, take time to do what you love most, and support handmade small business-or make something yourself!
All of these will be in the shop today or tomorrow for the Cyber Monday Sale.
~*ENJOY*~
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NEW CABS~
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^*TOP ROW, left to right: beautiful quality high grade Bisbee Arizona district Azurite Malachite, premium fossilized Dinosaur Bone, Royal Imperial Nodule Jasper.
BOTTOM ROW: 16mm chrysocolla, Russian serpentine.
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^*the ever popular high grade Australian Koroit Opal from Queensland.
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^*a new absolute FAVOURITE stone. This is Pietersite, from Namibia. This stone actually glints like labradorite, spectrolite, or larvakite. They remind me of a study painting for Gericault’s Raft of the Medusa. Pietersite is the perfect stormy mood stone. For those that follow my INSTAGRAM (username TheStrayArrow), you’ll know that I’ve been working on a pair of pietersite earrings since last weekend, posted a few days ago. These large loves will feature moons, morning stars, chevrons, among other dangling elements. Follow me there for the freshest previews, inside studio pics and stone finds.
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All of these new stones are up for grabs for custom orders. Check back to the blog DECEMBER FIRST for Rock Appreciation Day, a special announcement, and more. I’ll be working longer hours in the studio from now until the end of next month so production times for items do not slow down for gifting! See the results on Instagram and my Facebook Page.
Better start snagging the plugs you want and gifts while the sale is still up folks! Don’t forget to put in the coupon code: BLACKCYBER!
Essentially new items are either 90% finished or still in progress at this point. They will all be hitting both shops starting tomorrow, sprinkled throughout a week. What you see here is only a sampling of the newbies, so please check the facebook page(facebook.com/TheStrayArrowJewelry) for the freshest previews of what’s coming before its in the shop! The second half of this post will be dedicated to all the Custom orders I have worked on recently.
Alright folks, so the stone for this month is Picture or Landscape Jasper. There are several different types from many regions of the USA and other countries. I’ve been using these in my “Towards Mountains” pieces because of their amazing and completely natural landscapes with horizon lines.
*As a side note I won’t be going into mine or mineral detail tonight as I’m quite sick with a cold. I’ve been under the covers all day drinking tea and eating lemons trying to recoop as fast as possible! It’ll just be pictures for this Appreciation Day.
I’m not an expert or lapidary artist, the lines between these different jasper types blur pretty easily. There are two more sought after types that are easier to identify. Biggs and Deschutes. I have no examples of Deschutes, in all honesty it isn’t one of my favourites because I’ve only seen them with a full brown spectrum instead of the gray/blue for sky. This type will usually have little dark dendrite (plant fossil) like blemishes. They’ll look like little sprigs of dark grass amongst the hills in the stone. Biggs Blue Jasper, especially old stock, is beautiful. It will usually have cool tones to it, either towards the top of where a stone is most often cut to mimic the sky, or throughout all the colouring. These cool tones are rich and deep in saturation. These are the lovely Biggs cabs I currently have:
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A couple past creations using Picture Jasper~
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Another recognizable picture jasper is Palomino Jasper. This always reminds me of Mt. Olympus where the Greek Gods dwell, this stone type is always so dramatic…
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Goodies with picture jasper currently in the shop are the Towards Mountains ring and the Rolling Hills mini ring, each with a different type of picture jasper…
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Each picture jasper is always so unique, and the older Biggs jasper is getting real hard to find. Using these in jewelry pieces is truly like framing a painting! My all time favourite picture jasper is from my first Towards Mountains ring that has sold…
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Well that’s it this time ladies & gents. As always all the cabs seen are up for grabs! Sorry for the lack of information for this one, I am a pile of sniffles today. The next one will be more in depth! In the meantime, enjoy the MONTH LONG SALE in each Etsy shop!
Last weekend I was able to go the Intertribal powwow I attend every Fall. This year, I had a grand surprise-a vendor had a large amount of drilled, cut and polished wampum! I picked out several pairs and some with double holes for necklaces. All that you see below is all that there’ll be! The man who carved this wampum is no longer able to do so~
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From these beautiful pieces I have made a few earrings. I’ve noticed that, on the whole, only the most exquisite of turquoise grades are used in gold jewelry. There is hardly any turquoise or wampum jewelry out there that pairs with gold or gemstones. This is a minor start to turning this around, as some wampum and turquoise is just as nice as all those fancy diamonds *in my humble opinion*. These two pairs of shoulder duster earrings swing low and loud. They have lush plum wampum, delectable green emeralds, and blackened silver chains for a unique high end look.
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Other goods coming to the Etsy shop are mini cuties in the ever popular Rustic Arrow genre. They include a Triple Arrow Chevron stacker ring made to order in your size, and sweet little Arrow Vane chevron studs.
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Three gemstone stackers will be joining the Woodlands pieces. Natural sapphires do not always come in blues. The rose cut gems in these sparkle in brilliant white, lazy soft yellow, and fierce cadmium hues. Set within true 14k yellow gold bezels, the sterling backings and bands have been darkened for the ultimate contrast and rustic appeal. Ready to go in US sizes 4 3/4, 6, and 7. Not your size? Just ask for a custom one, I have more on hand! For those with upcoming events, or those who just need any excuse to dote on themselves, there are the Black Needle Dangles. These post earrings feature hand sawed and textured leaf shapes with dangling black tourmalinated teardrop rutile quartz gemstones. They have a rich, subtle, and all around elegant feel to them.
Alright ladies & gents, let’s get right to it. The two types for today are WAMPUM (I know, its really a shell…), and Koroit Boulder Opal. To repeat the disclaimer from the first Rock Appreciation Day: I AM NO LAPIDARY ARTIST OR GEOLOGIST/GEMOLOGIST. All of my information comes from research and experience working with these stones, not mining or cutting them. First up is Koroit Boulder Opal….
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Koroit Boulder Opal is a specific TYPE of opal solely from the Koroit opal mining area in Queensland, Australia. Like boulder/ribbon cut turquoise, the opal is within a host rock matrix. The opal matrix itself is formed when rain containing silica minerals drizzles back down to earth and weaves itself into sedimentary rocks. After all water evaporates and all that is left is silica, the silica hardens into a gel like substance with little spheres, which is what we know as opal. It is essentially hydrated silicon dioxide. The size and distance of these tiny spheres from each other is what determines the colour of the opal. This whole “opalization” process is very mysterious even to the experts, and is generally believed to span over 1 to 10 million years for creation. Way back when, the Romans would actually use opal as a good luck charm stone…
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Below are past commissions or sold Opal pieces…
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These last two are my favourite Koroit opals to date~
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The rest below are either available stones, or pieces still in the Etsy shop (00 gauge Koroit opal plugs coming to the Plugs shop soon! http://www.GaugedbyStasia.Etsy.com).
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This first photo is prime Koroit opal, just for looking and not for sharing!
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WAMPUM is something I’ve covered before. I adore it. Not just because the intensity of the colour is so beautiful for a natural shell, but because I am a nerd and love all things with deep mythological roots. The two main origin stories for wampum among the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) are extraordinary. A short version of the Seneca Iroquois version can be found written by author Harriet Maxwell Converse. She wrote the story and other myths directly from notes she took while spending time with Seneca council members in the early 1900’s.
Wampum is carved from the quahog clam shell found on the shores of the East Coast. If you don’t know about it, but have heard the word before, you may have been told in was like “Native American Indian money”. It was only thought to be used financially because the Europeans assumed so from the importance the Natives bestowed upon it. Later on trading wampum for European goods became common. The carved wampum has actually been used for hundreds of years as trade, or for treaties. It could be strung into beaded strings called “condolence strings” for a mourned one, or expertly beaded into belts-famously known and seen in many museums- for peace or war treaties between tribes. White coloured shells represented peace, purple represented war. Although used by many different Woodlands (Eastern) tribes, it is most famously seen used by the Iroquois (Haudenosaunee). The Iroquois Confederacy consists of the 5 tribes of the eastern longhouse-one tribe for each beam, or one tribe for each part of the “Hiawatha belt”. These symbols also refer to the geological locations of the tribes. The tribes are (in the Europeanized names and spelling): Seneca, Cayuga, Onondaga, Oneida, and Mohawk. The abbreviation is SCOOM. The sixth tribe, the Tuscarora, was later added to the Confederacy when they came into the region. Wampum can be replicated in glass imitation form. It is what is used most often nowadays when creating replica pieces. It has gotten harder and harder to find true Native wampum carvers anymore, and I know of only 3 existing in Massachusetts. The rounded cabochons and chip beads in the photos below were carved by Native Mi’kmaq artist Mark Changing Bear.
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Below are sold pieces or past commissions:
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Most of the gauged wampum pieces can still be purchased at http://www.GaugedbyStasia.Etsy.com . The wampum stray pieces are up for grabs for custom work~
NEW ADDITIONS INCLUDE: 00 gauge (10mm) Koroit Boulder Opal plugs, 4 gauge rutilated golden quartz plugs, 1/2″ (roughly 13mm) snowflake obsidian plugs, CUSTOM 10 gauge rainbow moonstone plugs, The Arsenic and Old Lace ring with 14k gold fill droplets, green Kingman mine turquoise drop necklace, and the Along The Dark Shores turquoise and wampum bangle bracelet. Not pictured but also on the way….more turquoise drop necklaces, and some surprises!
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Recently a fellow artist was able to give a mini presentation of her work. You can see some photographs of it and a video of her here on her blog:
As all creative processes come from some spark of inspiration, I’d like to share a little snippet of a consistent influence. While constantly looking at new art, the ever growing tumble of talent people put out into the world, nothing gets me going as something old to groove to. Any new music I can get my hands on, I can. Lately, I’ve been filling my ears with the Vaccines, Holly Golightly and The Brokeoffs, Alessi’s Ark, and my old favourites. Here’s one of them-hope all of you give your old sparks the attention and credit they deserve!
The Stray Arrow 