Fabulously Fairburn

I am not only an artist, but also a life-long rockhound! What does that mean? It means that I remember travelling with my family when I was very young to stand all day in the sun, digging through dirt to find treasures in the earth of semi-precious stones. That is part of the reason I absolutely love to use agates,  jaspers and other stones in my art jewelry. Some of the stones I use are treasures that I have found myself sometime over the thirty years I have spent since I was 6 years old in mining and searching for stones.

The fairburn agate in this piece is especially dear to me! Fairburn agates are one of my favorite treasures of all. Perhaps it is because I have many memories of hot days in the desert-like sun of South Dakota’s prairies, picking cactus needles out of shoes (and once, a behind…); finding rabbits, prairie dogs, and a coyote, and then, maybe even one small fairburn agate amongst all of the other thousands of weathered stones sprinkling the ground.

More recently, my dog Shonee and I went looking when I lived out in Fairburn area two years ago.  He had more fun chasing the antelope, but I did get him to lick rocks…just not the fairburns.  He wasn’t a very good hunter in that regard.  He wasn’t a true rockhound…just an adorable mutt.

Fairburn Agates are very difficult to find.  Truly you can spend an entire day of searching for them–though I wouldn’t recommend it (although my dad would)–and never find a single one.  The hunting grounds are generally well-picked over, and regulations are changing, making access to the locations and collecting of these gems more complicated.  However, not too far away from the beautiful Badlands is where you may find one.

So this is a little bit of the story behind the stone in the ring.  I just completed this piece yesterday and am quite fond of it.  The ring frames a Fairburn Agate, cut by me and finished by my father of The Agate Works  fame.  (He cuts beautiful designer cabochons out of what we have mined over the years and also what he has purchased.) The ring is set in sterling silver, and is made of hammered wire, cut sheet metal, and bezel wire soldered together using my acetylene torch.

I hope you enjoy the art and the reminiscence!

Custom-Ordered Jewelry Make Great Christmas Gifts!

No hidden suggestive sales tactics–I am just telling you boldly…Ordering custom jewelry really is a great idea! 

I mean, who doesn’t wan’t that snake fang from the rattlenake that almost poisoned you made into a pendant?  I have created many pieces from stones people wished to have set, and most of my custom orders have been for Christmas season.  So here it is…I am warning you, if this sounds like something you want, Thanksgiving is the deadline for placing your order!!!

You can visit my website’s consignment page to learn more.

Back Home and Working!

It was so nice to spend time with my family in Germany! Alas! Now it is time to get back to work! I am publishing more jewelry for sale on ETSY (which you can visit by going straight to Etsy or by visiting my website at http://www.mjoliedesigns.net). I am soon going to be working on another line of jewelry that will be an encouragement to others I hope. My hope is to create some necklaces that embody different talents and gifts people have, and that this might encourage them to be all our heavenly Daddy has made for them to be. These would hopefully be good gift items. We will see how soon I can get to this! I have much to catch up on after being gone for three weeks.