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Post by kk on May 17, 2014 20:44:22 GMT -5
Its time to get serious and start the project for the event. Chances to get into the top 20 are not so bad, but top ten will be a dream, that is still a long way off as there are already people committed to the event that are considered to be on top of their game in the jade industry today. Guatemalan white/purple Jadeite. Against all advise, I'm going to give it a go at an image that I have fallen in love with, years ago, and after the basic outlines, everything that follows will be done purely freehand and intuition, on this as well as the second run at it in black Australian Nephrite. Don't know yet how it will be framed, but overall it should come to a shape of a heart. Working title: BFF OK here we go. As said, I'm going to try this theme 3 times. One in white, one in black and one thin one. Here is the original piece, a rather challenging Guatemalan white/purple Jade. Challenging, because its not without its faults. Cut a thinner slice off for later to be used either as the third try or possibly for an inlay into the black jade that Marijana send me. I'm going to use the 1 cm thick piece for this contest now. As can be seen, no strong light is needed to see how translucent this material is.  Roughened out the basic figure and hands. That thing is though, while I carve dry with the occasional dipping in water; 11 burrs (Chinese ones ) down. I always fear faces, but I did not expect that hands (4 of them here) are just as problematic. Never mind, point in case is that I gotta face my fears about messing up, so faces, hands and heads are the main-subject this year.  Now had 4 days rest on the piece and will try to continue on the faces this weekend. My one and only chance in this contest will be if people can connect with the characters, so hands and faces are the most important things to work on here. |
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diamondust
off to a rocking start
Member since January 2014
Posts: 20 
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Post by diamondust on May 17, 2014 22:58:43 GMT -5
KK, I was wondering what you were going to carve for the symposium. I was considering this event but I don't have a good enough quality Jade or the money to purchase it. I do have a small piece of " ice" Guatemalan jadeite and you are right about the burs , I destroyed three just cleaning up the surface. since then I have purchased some sintered burs from china and a new Foredom brushless micromotor. the burs are good and the Foredom is awesome! it cut my carving time in half. what are you using?
Enjoy your carving
David |
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Post by kk on May 18, 2014 0:40:12 GMT -5
KK, I was wondering what you were going to carve for the symposium. I was considering this event but I don't have a good enough quality Jade or the money to purchase it. I do have a small piece of " ice" Guatemalan jadeite and you are right about the burs , I destroyed three just cleaning up the surface. since then I have purchased some sintered burs from china and a new Foredom brushless micromotor. the burs are good and the Foredom is awesome! it cut my carving time in half. what are you using?
Enjoy your carving
David Thanks David. All the things that I use are on the cheap side. I made a pact with myself years ago to use the saved money rather on material than tools. All that I use today can be seen here. brilliantchallenge.webs.com/apps/photos/album?albumid=15234742I was lucky to have that piece of Guatemalan laying around. Have others, but I'm not too fond of the colors. Then I got extremely lucky and someone in Australia send me black Nephrite of virtually, in a universally acknowledged, best quality in exchange of a promise to make a carving for her later.  I had this luck now for a while, where people send me material of incredible quality. Things that I would otherwise never consider to buy, because of the prices they command. |
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jamesp
Cave Dweller 
Member since October 2012
Posts: 36,603
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Post by jamesp on May 19, 2014 5:48:58 GMT -5
kk, i had a boss from Vancouver. His neighbor owned a jade mine near there. Boss said that he had jade boulders brought to his yard for landscape features.
Apparently very large rocks. Here in Georgia there is a granite vein in a small town 100 miles NW of Atlanta. The granite is about 6 miles long and 33 miles wide.
That town(Elberton) is responsible for 1/3 of the US production of all monument granite production. Cemetery granite, high rise veneer, statues and so much more.
I remember visiting there as a kid and seeing like 10-12 foot diameter saws cutting large blocks of quarried granite. Many were family operations.
I would think you have access to fine jades at your location. Looking forward to the completed carving.
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Post by kk on May 19, 2014 11:06:56 GMT -5
I would think you have access to fine jades at your location. Looking forward to the completed carving. Too much cheating going on in the markets here. Would not buy a gram of that stuff. Yes we got Jade all round in China Burma Indonesia etc., But that is of no help, when you are in New York, you don't get to go to Dallas every other day for fun. Thats about as far as I'm from any source of jade in the ground, and for each, I would need special visas as well as added security just to go near that stuff. |
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jamesp
Cave Dweller
Member since October 2012
Posts: 36,603
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Post by jamesp on May 19, 2014 11:45:40 GMT -5
Yea man. Your country is another world in vastness. Just driving to Texas puts my lights out for 2 days.
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Post by kk on May 20, 2014 5:27:41 GMT -5
As always, heads give me fits. :twisted: :cry:  Cut short this weekend by repeat thunderstorms, so got only an hour and a half a day on the machine. As always heads are a major problem. While quite big here (a good inch from ear to ear for the two faces), it seems even a small cut somewhere and the whole thing falls apart.  I'm slowly giving in to the idea that the two gals are laughing at something they see, rather than laughing at something one of them said. Does not look like I can still turn that head enough to make it happen. Now, I run out of 1 and 2mm blades too, so need to leave it as is until next weekend, and get new supplies tomorrow.  Then its on to correct the body-postures, the pipes and hands. After that I will need to sand the whole thing properly and polish up, before going to attempt the finer details all over. In turn, after that I hope to have an idea what to do to frame them and make it useful as a pendant. Right now I'm looking at 56 x 46 mm in size. |
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jamesp
Cave Dweller
Member since October 2012
Posts: 36,603
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Post by jamesp on May 20, 2014 6:25:19 GMT -5
Well done Kurt. I bet faces are a challenge-with pencil and paper, much less carving out of hard stone.
It amuses me that you use jadeite from central America when you live in the orient. I am sure that the
Hong Kong trade market has it all too.
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Post by kk on May 20, 2014 7:39:58 GMT -5
Yeah, it sure does. Only here the Jade from Guatemala is labeled "Burma" to get maximum $
By now, I would not even be surprised anymore, if most traders "honestly" cant differentiate anymore.
The Taiwanese started it, and it has become commonplace. There are rumors floating around, that over 95% of "Burmese" jade in and around China is not from there.
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jamesp
Cave Dweller
Member since October 2012
Posts: 36,603
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Post by jamesp on May 20, 2014 14:00:38 GMT -5
Yeah, it sure does. Only here the Jade from Guatemala is labeled "Burma" to get maximum $ By now, I would not even be surprised anymore, if most traders "honestly" cant differentiate anymore. The Taiwanese started it, and it has become commonplace. There are rumors floating around, that over 95% of "Burmese" jade in and around China is not from there. That is a shame. gotta know where the stone came from. It is part of pride in ownership. A real devaluation. one reason I like to find my own. It's all about$$$ |
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Post by parfive on May 23, 2014 23:47:25 GMT -5
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jamesp
Cave Dweller
Member since October 2012
Posts: 36,603
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Post by jamesp on May 24, 2014 6:23:45 GMT -5
Dang aliens are at it again. Jadeite bombs being cast at the poor Moscow boys. Well done Rich. Who would have ever thunk ? Please send me an asteroid-please ha |
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Post by pghram on May 30, 2014 16:32:33 GMT -5
Terrific carvings.
Rich
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Post by kk on Jun 19, 2014 23:38:14 GMT -5
Have left the Guatemalan Jade behind for a while. Still don't know how to frame them.  So now lets start with the intended project for the contest. If this does not work out, will still be able to return to the Guatemalan. This now, is Australian Cowell material, so its accepted as the current 3rd. category for Black Jade (Actinolite)  As required in the rules, we are supposed to have a few pictures showing us actually working the piece. Here at my usual workstation, while getting the first head into preform. Not getting any younger, so glasses have become a permanent feature while cutting. .  Quite like how this material cuts. Its much softer (it seems) as my previous attempts, and looks like to hold edges well. Here is slab, preform, and first preforms of the head. This material cuts very different from any other jade I have worked previously. Much more dust, soft and hard spots, in general much easier on the blades/burrs. I think somehow, its fibers must be finer than the Guatemalan or other material that I cut previously. Could be the Actinolite that people are talking about handling different from regular jade material. But then again, this is only the fifth try in any form of jade or nephrite and only the third material......  And that's where I'm today: Step 2. Deepening and placing of hands. This design will have only 3 hands. Two holding the pipe, and the third holding on to the frame. The reason for the third hand will only become apparent when everything is done and will be an important part of the overall story.  There will be a few more pictures till the face and hands are done, but after that the project will fall silent. There seem to be about 40 contestants right now, yet only about 5 seem to chat at all. Everyone else is keeping everything a secret it seems. So when I start framing the girls, I shall do the same to keep some surprises up my sleeve. If someone is really interested in the process as it goes along, just tell me in a PM, and I will keep posting through the PM system to individuals. |
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jamesp
Cave Dweller
Member since October 2012
Posts: 36,603
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Post by jamesp on Jun 20, 2014 4:39:35 GMT -5
Barefoot Carving Society
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Post by kk on Jun 21, 2014 7:57:05 GMT -5
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Fossilman
Cave Dweller
Member since January 2009
Posts: 20,722
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Post by Fossilman on Jun 21, 2014 13:25:50 GMT -5
Beautiful work KK............
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Post by kk on Aug 26, 2014 18:04:59 GMT -5
Hi there everyone. Was a long a tedious summer for all the wrong reasons. Finally got back into carving with more time on hand. Just restarted the white jade  And simply because virtually no-one else shows their upcoming contest pieces, here is where I am as of right now. About half way trough with a lot of detailing and polishing out all those danged corners and frills ahead. Just a few days ago, I decided to give the bird some eyes in black opal. Don't have precision machines other than my fingers; so I whittle them down slowly. The pics on the right are now at about a third bigger than what would fit.  And the piece itself as of last Friday. Decided in the meantime,to give it a head that will be in mat finish to get another aspect of visibility.  Till here for now, thanks for looking, Kurt |
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Post by snowmom on Aug 26, 2014 19:44:53 GMT -5
wonderful piece! such fine details! thank you for showing this to us!
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Post by gingerkid on Aug 26, 2014 21:27:10 GMT -5
Thank you for sharing your progress with us, kk!! The opal eyes are going to look awesome when you place them in your carving. Really like the shape of them so far. Hope we'll see your fire agate carving soon, too. |
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