Post by kk on Apr 28, 2013 4:30:27 GMT -5
“Aqua catching a raindrop” or “Aqua and the elixir of life”
Had this piece of rough for nearly four years and did not dare to touch it. For one because it’s the most expensive rough single piece I have ever bought to date, and I really did not want to mess that one up. Now, a few weeks ago, Kristee teased us with a sub-herb cab and got me to pick up this piece.
As some of you know, I came to lapidary works via Fire Agate, Pietersite and Spectrolite. I messed around for years, with relatively expensive stuff and destructed most of it in the name of learning to work it.
Pietersite takes its attractiveness (in contrast from the other Tiger eye members) from the immense possibility of chatoyancy whichever way you turn it, because of all the twisted fibers, often having blue, red and yellow colors in the same piece. But sometimes, you get pieces with immense long fibers. Those are as desirable as they are avoided. In this piece, all the fibers run top to bottom all the way, and that’s the reason why it is possible to get a blanket coverage of chatoyancy. A cab in that condition can easily run to 150$ and more for a standard 30 x20mm cab. Carving gives the possibility of getting chatoyancy from most angles despite of the straight fibers.
Now the reason as to why it is hated too: fibers are often loose in Pietersite and you could run into pockets of dirt. In normal cases with short fibers, it is a hassle dealing with the occasional loose fiber, but in pieces like this one, ripping a fiber means; you loose the fiber, top to bottom. On top of that you might loose whole sheets, single fibers seldom breaks loose, its usually in bigger quantities.
Knowing the trouble I got myself into; I kept this project quiet and only found the finish-line because I really did not want to consign it to the waste-bucket. During 3 weeks of constantly re-adjusting, I came really close to giving up several times. At one time, shoulder, breast and half the tummy broke away up to 1.5mm deep, and the whole body had to be readjusted. Lost material along both arms and hands became virtually impossible. In the end I had to lean her head far back because I did not have enough material left.
So, here we go, a very abstract version of “Aqua”
In order to really see the chatoyance, that thing needs to move. So lets try if this works.
<iframe width="640" height="360" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/zlNAHei4TMs?feature=player_detailpage" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=10151415679079436&l=3162629460410031544
After the basics where done, I got frustrated with trying to put something in her (non-existent) hand. Played around with a lot of different ideas, but all of them would eiter have been to elaborate or covering too much of the Pietersite. So in the end I just went with an oversize raindrop.
And finally the combo,
And best shot for the day
Thanks for looking and taking the time to go through this monster post.
Best regards, Kurt
Had this piece of rough for nearly four years and did not dare to touch it. For one because it’s the most expensive rough single piece I have ever bought to date, and I really did not want to mess that one up. Now, a few weeks ago, Kristee teased us with a sub-herb cab and got me to pick up this piece.
As some of you know, I came to lapidary works via Fire Agate, Pietersite and Spectrolite. I messed around for years, with relatively expensive stuff and destructed most of it in the name of learning to work it.
Pietersite takes its attractiveness (in contrast from the other Tiger eye members) from the immense possibility of chatoyancy whichever way you turn it, because of all the twisted fibers, often having blue, red and yellow colors in the same piece. But sometimes, you get pieces with immense long fibers. Those are as desirable as they are avoided. In this piece, all the fibers run top to bottom all the way, and that’s the reason why it is possible to get a blanket coverage of chatoyancy. A cab in that condition can easily run to 150$ and more for a standard 30 x20mm cab. Carving gives the possibility of getting chatoyancy from most angles despite of the straight fibers.
Now the reason as to why it is hated too: fibers are often loose in Pietersite and you could run into pockets of dirt. In normal cases with short fibers, it is a hassle dealing with the occasional loose fiber, but in pieces like this one, ripping a fiber means; you loose the fiber, top to bottom. On top of that you might loose whole sheets, single fibers seldom breaks loose, its usually in bigger quantities.
Knowing the trouble I got myself into; I kept this project quiet and only found the finish-line because I really did not want to consign it to the waste-bucket. During 3 weeks of constantly re-adjusting, I came really close to giving up several times. At one time, shoulder, breast and half the tummy broke away up to 1.5mm deep, and the whole body had to be readjusted. Lost material along both arms and hands became virtually impossible. In the end I had to lean her head far back because I did not have enough material left.
So, here we go, a very abstract version of “Aqua”
In order to really see the chatoyance, that thing needs to move. So lets try if this works.
<iframe width="640" height="360" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/zlNAHei4TMs?feature=player_detailpage" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=10151415679079436&l=3162629460410031544
After the basics where done, I got frustrated with trying to put something in her (non-existent) hand. Played around with a lot of different ideas, but all of them would eiter have been to elaborate or covering too much of the Pietersite. So in the end I just went with an oversize raindrop.
And finally the combo,
And best shot for the day
Thanks for looking and taking the time to go through this monster post.
Best regards, Kurt
