WOW !!! I have been taking an advanced jewelry class, with “the master” of art and my friend Bob Jiorle,  this consists of cutting and polishing stones. This is SO VERY INTERESTING and VERY EXCITING !!! I will give you some technical information shortly. I have been making sterling silver jewelry for a number of years, but have always purchased my stones. I am now making my own.

It is so gratifying to take an ordinary stone (yes, I have picking ordinary rocks from rock piles all over town), to cut it, shape it, refine it and then to polish it to a beautiful lustre…….behold, a stone worthy of a great sterling setting is born. I made it myself, I have given birth to a baby rock, or “a chip off the old block”.  Really and truely, this is a small piece of what is an ordinary stone. Look at the photos ans tell me that you are not amazed. See my next posting “How a Baby Rock is Born” for the technical information I promised. This is better than Rocket Science !!!!

I will tell you briefly the steps: 1) Select your stone, how do you know it is a good parent ? Check it’s qualities first before you invest too much time and love. Quickly grind a small spot on the rock flat with the grinding stone, quickly sand the spot, then polish the spot, if you like what you see, then it is a good candidate for parenthood and you may invest in your parent stone. 2) Fire up the wet saw equipped with the diamond blade, and slowly and methodicly cut a nice size slab of stone from the parent, this could take a few passes until you get the desired thickness and a nice composition within the slab (always keep your finished artwork piece in mind when selecting stones to use).  3) Grind the slab to the desired size and rough shape using a wet grinding stone with water running on the stone at all times to keep the heat from burning you and the baby. 4) Apply the stone to a Dop stick to further shape the stone, but putting it on the stick helps to protect your hands and fingers from the gringing/sanding. 5)Grind further, this time using a finer wet grinding stone, stone to a dome shape, flat top or faceted shape and refine and rough spots. 6) Sand the stone using a wet sand paper wheel with a rough grit of 320, then continue to sand with a finer wet sand paper witha grit of 400 or 600 making sure to remove any lines, scratches dimples or imperfections.  7) Apply tin oxide to a wet leather disk and polish the stone until you can see your reflection in the glossy finish. Your Baby is born, wash the baby rock, remove from the dop stick and admire with a foolish grin. Dry your baby rock, brag about your youngster, compare it’s size and shape to the others in the room and take lots of pictures. 9) Now wrap your baby in a secure, snuggly, protected  place and take your baby home. You will now need to decide how the baby will spend the rest of it’s life.  It is time to design an environment which will enhance your baby and allow your baby to shine. You are the parent now, be proud of you accomplishment.

There is some very technical information which you can check out on the Inland Lapidary website . Look under “How to Cab”

Grouse Studios will be open on Saturday July 11 and Sunday July 12, stop by Frenchtown to check out my store. On Saturday stay long enough to get the essence of Frenchtown Bastille Day, a celebration of the French origins of the town and celebration honoring those who founded  our quaint river community. There is fun activity for the entire family, food, music, the “fun bus”, puppets, mimes, clowns and games of chance. The shops will feature special “french” themed items and serve french goodies as part of the celebration. Please stop by Grouse Studios and say hello to artist, Margie Milne on Saturday, she will be shop sitting while I am out of town. My shop features a number of Margie’ original works of art which are varied in style and subject matter. Then cross the Delaware River and proceed South to Tinicum township for a great indoor/outdoor art festival complete with food, fun, music and tons of art in all mediums. I will be exibiting one of my handmade pottery sinks in a hand painted cabinet as well as a number of photographs. ”Bumps on a Log” is for sale at the Tinicum Festival of the Arts. I have thousands of photos for sale, call or e-mail me with theme or color scheme, I have a photo for you. Enjoy !!!

Hello Everyone,

     I am excited to tell you about Frenchtown Bastille Day which is Saturday July 11th from noon-6pm. Please visit our quaint river community to celebrate the “french” influence. There will be great food, special events, store sales and fun for the entire family. The town will open it’s arms to all who want to know what Bastille means and anyone who has already experienced the great fun to be had. We have events for children (the fun bus, mimes, clowns, puppets, and games of chance). Stroll our streets, have a bite to eat and see what all the hoopla is about. Have Fun, be safe, see you there. Grouse Studios is Open from 11am – 5pm, come by and see what is new and ask about or original design pottery, jewelry, hand painted furniture pieces, antiques, and most of all my custom pottery sinks. The ”thing you can not resist”.