gemfeller
Cave Dweller 
Member since June 2011
Posts: 4,059 
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Post by gemfeller on Jun 28, 2013 14:54:02 GMT -5
Okay, here goes...I'm familiar with ImageShack but my email's changed and I can't figure out how to update it. So I opened an account with Photobucket and I hope I did it right. This stone is from the old Van Dusen diggings at Deer Creek. This is a personal collection stone. It weighs 24+ ct. and measures 20 x 26 x 6.5 mm. While it's certainly not the best quality the mine produced it's somewhat typical of its colors. Hope this works...  [/URL] |
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Post by kk on Jun 28, 2013 17:48:43 GMT -5
Looks great. And you got the purple to show. That color is always a pain in the rear to capture.  |
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gemfeller
Cave Dweller
Member since June 2011
Posts: 4,059
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Post by gemfeller on Jun 28, 2013 18:24:35 GMT -5
Thanks kk. Here's another personal collection stone. It's a large gemmy piece from Slaughter Mountain with multiple color layers in each "bubble." I polished the top layer to show this rather typical color pattern from that location.  |
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Post by kk on Jun 28, 2013 18:38:08 GMT -5
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Post by helens on Jun 29, 2013 8:43:45 GMT -5
Wow... those are amazing pieces Rick!!! Thanks for showing us:).
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gemfeller
Cave Dweller
Member since June 2011
Posts: 4,059
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Post by gemfeller on Jun 29, 2013 18:24:55 GMT -5
Thanks for your comments all. KK, the bubbles on the Slaughter Mountain piece are huge and rather easy to work. Bubbly "botryoidal" pieces like this involve many hours of painstaking carving work as you probably well know. And since it's very hard to tell final quality while work is underway, you just hope the final stone justifies all the labor! Rick  |
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gemfeller
Cave Dweller
Member since June 2011
Posts: 4,059
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Post by gemfeller on Jun 29, 2013 18:34:30 GMT -5
I polished these two pieces "in place" to give others an idea of how fire agate forms.  This cab is a pretty good representation of the better green/purples that come from Deer Creek. This image emphasizes the green but it shows some purple as well (hard to photograph both for some reason.)  This is one of my favorite "bubbly" fire agate cabs. They can be a real pain to polish well!  And more "eye candy" from the secret Internal World of fire agate.  |
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Post by helens on Jun 29, 2013 21:33:16 GMT -5
Holy crap... the work that cutting represents just staggers me. When you get near the 'skin' of the bubbles, even doing it a micromilliter at a time, I have broken through and wrecked bubbles... how the heck did you DO that?
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gemfeller
Cave Dweller
Member since June 2011
Posts: 4,059
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Post by gemfeller on Jun 29, 2013 21:52:05 GMT -5
Hi Helen, it's mostly the way the "bubbly" rough occurs. Some pieces can be polished fairly easily, but others can't. The color layers vary in thickness from piece to piece and by source. You just have to take the time to learn the tricks of the type of rough you're cutting. Many times I make my own specialized tools. Some pieces literally take years -- I get bored with them and set them aside until the urge to work on them again strikes again. It's not a cutting job for people with short attention spans or who require quick results. Rick
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Post by kk on Jun 29, 2013 22:06:01 GMT -5
Amen to that.
Starting the fine sanding or polish at a certain color, never guarantees the final color. You need to be willing to take whatever color comes next when you break through, plus some colors (layers) will always suddenly end and leave you with an unsightly presumed mistake in the final piece. Avoiding that, is exactly what makes people like Wendell Thatcher, Mike Galesi or Rhyzard such fantastic artist in this medium.
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Post by helens on Jun 29, 2013 23:01:29 GMT -5
Well, I'm in total awe of those with the patience and skill to coax that much fire out of one of those terrible things! LOL!
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Post by talkingstones on Jul 2, 2013 6:39:59 GMT -5
KK, that's gorgeous!!! Love how you caught the fire!!!! Beautiful work!
Cathy
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