Rutilated Quartz and Hand Cut Tree Sterling Silver Pendent

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Quartz is the most common mineral on Earth. It is found in nearly every geological environment and is a component of almost every rock type.  It makes up about 12% of the earth's crust, occurring in a wide variety of igneous, metamorphic and sedimentary rocks. It is also the most varied in terms of variety and color. 

Rutilated quartz is found in Australia, Brazil, Kazakhstan, Madagascar, Norway, Pakistan and the United States.

Rutilated quartz has been referred to as Cupid's darts, Venus hair stone and Fleches d'amour.

 Rutilated quartz is said to slow down the aging process and is said to be a strong healer.

 I found this beautiful Rutilated Quartz and decided to use it to continue my Adirondack Series with it. It just reminded me of "roots" and I began cutting out trees. Two to be exact. This time I didn't sketch my idea out first. I just kind of knew with this piece what I wanted it to look like.  I used a square wire to surround the whole disc and soldered another reticulated "branch" to it.

 The chain is hand made and I guess I must have three hours of time just connecting the jump rings without figuring how long it took to wind and cut them. I did consider blackening the chain but at this point I've kept it shiny.

 The finding on the chain is a sterling magnetic closure. Easy to put on and take off and extremely strong so one doesn't have to worry about losing it.

As you can see, the size of the pendent is larger than a penny and I'm going to say the size of a quarter (should have used a quarter, huh?).

More Sterling Spoon Rings to Preview

Emerald size 8

Amethyst size 9.5

Simple leaf pattern size 11

Spoon Rings back for a new look!

OK, I will confess I was a child of the 60s and at that time, the term "hippie" took on an entirely
different concept from the Halloween costumes of today or the reference made anytime drugs are mentioned. Oh don't get me wrong: some of our outfits back then looked more like Halloween costumes for sure with all the bright colors and flowing long skirts, huge bell bottoms and massive platform shoes and pot....well lets not get into that!  Having said that, I'm going to skip right to the subject at the heart of this blog! The SPOON RING.
   The sterling silver (not plated) spoons I have been collecting from pawn shops, thrift shops, garage sales and such have been piling up in my studio so I thought I would make a few rings from them. For those who may frown on this activity because you think its a waste of beautiful sterling silverware- I want you to know that I use every inch of the piece and waste nothing. More importantly: I am so in love with the beautiful patterns on them that I believe the person who buys a ring will enjoy the beauty of the pattern far more than those of us who covet a set of sterling silverware tucked away in the depths of the china closet or drawer that holds the wooden box lined with a velvet cloth that holds those special eating utensils which hardly ever get used! You know its true. Polishing it and washing it every time you want to bring it out is a giant pain and its always the maids day off!!!
  So here they are and I would love it if you would "comment" (at the end of the post) and let me know what you think.  My favorite is actually the deco, more simple pattern that I see a man wearing.

The very ornate one has a Labadorite stone set on it and the third ring I used a glass engraver to create texture around the pattern which also covers up an initial that had originally been on it.

My 2012 interest in making pendents and necklaces

                                    The above are the reverse sides of the below

SOLD

                                                               

SOLD

                                                                       

Realizing my pendent and necklace interest of 2012

After looking at iphoto to review the work I've done in silver during 2012, I realized the focus on pendents and necklaces.  This year I became very excited about the Adirondack Collection and also
on working with all those beautiful natural stones from the beaches of Lake Michigan. The cabochons I selected for the pendents were the drive for my designs and I'm very happy with the results. The handmade chains I hung them from have given the pendents a great deal of validity and charm even though the prices have been driven up by the fact that silver was so high on the metals market for 2012.
   I hope you enjoy the following images. Thanks to Bruce for the beautiful photos. If you are interested in purchasing any please feel free to go to my Etsy shop: Etsy.com/shop/foresthollow or contact me by email: forest@ntcnet.com. If you can't find them on Etsy they are probably here in the shop in Remsen or at the Szozda Gallery in Syracuse. In any case they will be available to you.
Thank you for your continuing support.
Cat