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I saw these Narmada River Dendritic Agate stones out of the corner of my eye while leaving a booth at the Tucson Gem Show this past February. I thought I had my shopping done for that day, but I decided I would take a peek at one more tray of stones. 30 minutes, much hemming and hawing later, I had selected 6 stones. I rarely work with agate, but these stones sparked something I knew would turn into a meaningful collection later.
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After my most recent Teeny Tiny Stone Collection release, I felt like diving into some more complex, detail-oriented designs. The delicate fern-like inclusions of the agates invoke for me stillness, light, clarity, and a sense of floating. I wanted to create settings for these stones that allowed the stone's essence to be as minimally disturbed as possible. Every detail, every saw mark is intentional. I hand-cut thicker bezels than usual, I drew and then sawed out tiny dentrites in silver to act as prongs, I fabricated all jump rings. The dark patina, I hope, allows the stones inner light to shine a bit more in contrast. Here's the first finished piece, a necklace:
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While I am not yet done with this collection, I am thoroughly enjoying the challenge of slowing down, working out the details, honing my soldering skills with all the tiny pieces, and problem solving my way to the result I want. More to come!
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