what i've been working on

i'm afraid to say that i've sort of hit what i like to call, "a jeweler's block." when i was getting ready for the show at the gallery in charlottesville in july, i had so many ideas that i had to make myself stop working so i could get the displays ready. then once i got home, the ideas flowed like iced tea with lots of lemon (it's my favorite drink, and i live in the south, okay?) and continued flowing until this week. i'm sort of at a stalling point because i know i want to make lots of new things, but i'm just not sure what they are yet. i've not been completely unproductive, and here are some things i've been working on...

the ring at the top is made with tiny chips from a large pale green star mica stone i brought back with me from sausalito, ca. the chips are set in resin so they're preserved forever! i used to think i didn't like working with resin, but then i tried a new type of resin and realized i love it! i've got a few more ideas as to what i'd like to preserve, but you'll have to wait and see! the earrings are made from porcupine quills. really!

earlier this afternoon, i rode to a store selling gem stones, bones, fossils and artisan jewelry that i'd never been to before. i'm still loyal to the shop i've been going to for my stones, but it can't hurt to see what else is out there. the new shop didn't have the selection of my old favorite, but they did have good prices, friendly employees and some pretty neat stuff! i got a few smaller stones that i'll use in the .22 bullet casing necklaces (tangerine quartz, clear quartz and amethyst) and i also got these shark teeth. they were in a box with tons of beautiful fossils that i'd like to go back and get! the teeth came from the potomac river, and if you're familiar with that river, you'll know that there are NO sharks in it, nor have there been for many years...25 million to be exact! yep, the teeth and fossils in that box are all approximately 25 million years old and have all come from different parts of virginia. one particular fossil i really, really want (although i'm not sure yet how i'll use it) is some sort of shell with beautiful layers of tan, ivory and blue. oh, swoon.

i like grasshoppers. in fact, i like bugs in general (with the exception of those that sting and spiders with fur or poison). so on my way home this afternoon, i noticed a grasshopper clinging to the back side of my windshield wiper. i felt bad for the little guy because i was going 70mph and his tiny antennae we blowing wildly in the wind. i kept watching him, hoping he wouldn't fly off while i was going down the road, and luckily he had serious clinging power. when i got to the first stoplight after noticing him, he sort of perked up but was still hanging on to my wiper. then he raised his right front leg and started wiping down his face since he had a break from the 70mph wind; i guess he needed to remove debris from his eyes. aw, poor lil guy. i was happy to see that he hung on all 20 miles home, and once i turned my blazer off, he jumped away to start his new life in the country!

and i definitely wouldn't mind having this ring!