Thursday, January 28, 2010

Can you tell that I've been busy in my workshop lately? I spent many fun hours there over the Christmas break but I hadn't really gotten a chance to take photos until recently. So I have a lot of new work to share with you.

This cabochon is just extraordinary. It's a Prudent Man Plume Agate that was cut by Gemcutter, an artisan on Etsy. Layers of greens, golds,blues and whites form a perfect landscape. It looks as though you are peering down a forest into a fog-enveloped valley.

The mountain valley scene inspired me to create a woodland-themed pendant. On one side of this pendant, the focus is entirely on the beautiful cab. On the other, I cut the silver in the shape of a leaf and allowed the stone to shine through.

(And I only broke 6 saw blades cutting out the leaf!!!!)

A hand cut and stamped sterling leaf adds a little extra interest on both sides of this pendant so you can wear it either way. Or if the pendant flips around when you're wearing it, you never have to worry about it because it looks great either way!

I'm not sure which side is my favorite. While I like the cut-out leaf, that agate is just gorgeous on it's own.

If you want to see a few more photos of this pendant, they can be found here.




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13 Comments:

  1. Swapna said...
    Oh such a lovely stone and both sides are equally beautiful...
    Kateri Morton said...
    oh my lord, that's beautiful. you're doing such pretty work right now!
    Anonymous said...
    Your leaf cut-out on the back is so perfect for this design...gorgeous.
    Hot Rocks said...
    That is beautiful! I love the cut out leaf design on the back!
    Contrariwise said...
    Thanks so much.

    I actually had fun cutting that leaf out. I challenged myself to cut it out in one piece and that's what I did. I ended up with a perfect sterling leaf that I'm going to use for another piece of jewelry in the future.

    There's picture of it in an earlier post of mine: http://akacontrariwise.blogspot.com/2009/12/using-jewelry-saw.html
    nancy said...
    Love what you've done with this stone,lovely!!
    Tara Beaulieu said...
    That stone is simply amazing- I had to read your post then go back and look at it again to realize it wasn't a miniature landscape painting- I truly thought it was something someone had painted on there, what a stunner!
    Contrariwise said...
    I think the stone is even better in person than in the photos.

    None of the other Prudent Man Plume Agates I've seen look as nice as this one from Gemcutter. I went back and bought the rest that he had for future projects.

    :-D
    nancy said...
    Ahh ha!! So that's where the PM agates went!!He does have nice stones!
    Contrariwise said...
    Tee hee!
    KayzKreationz said...
    That is absolutely gorgeous. While I really like the leaf cut-out, I think I prefer the front side. You could get lost in that agate. :)
    http://KayzKreationz.blogspot.com
    Unknown said...
    My goodness that is stunning!
    Contrariwise said...
    Thanks everyone.

    It's funny how sometimes a cabochon inspires me and I'm able to incorporate it into a piece of jewelry almost effortlessly.

    Some don't seem to want to be created right away. They wait for the right inspiration to come.

    This cab took a while. Even though I knew almost exactly how I wanted the pendant to look, it took me almost 2 months to finish it.

    I would work on it a little, then think. Work some more, and then another project called.

    It's almost like each creation is a child, with it's own unique personality and will of it's own.

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