by Christopher Wertenberger January 2012 “My project started with an end piece of jade (jadeite) that I found many years ago in Clear Creek, California,” writes January Lapidary of the Month Christopher Wertenberger. “A member of my rock club offered a class on carving stones using an arbor unit. In 40-plus years of doing...
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by Homer Barrs December 2011 “As I was cutting a large piece of Pasco Marble,” writes December Craftsman of the Month Homer Barrs, of San Diego, California, “I laid two slabs together and saw an ice-covered pond on Mount St. Helens with the dead trees, bare rocks and snow. I had a picture and...
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by Janet Lynn Burgess November 2011 I began this project in a metal foldforming class where I folded, unfolded, hammered, and otherwise stressed metal into interesting shapes,” says November Craftsman of the Month Janet Lynn Burgess. “I chose this particular piece of 20 gauge copper for making my pendant because it caught my eye...
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by Caleb Harris October 2011 “I had become interested in scarabs,” writes October Craftsman of the Month Caleb Harris, of Cottonwood, California, “so I decided to make one. As a member of the Shasta Gem & Mineral Society, through which I found out about Rock & Gem, I first ground and polished a 7-gram...
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by Albert Isaac September 2011 September Craftsman of the Month Albert Isaac, of Modesto, California, a member of the Mother Lode Mineral Society, is the creator of this nephrite jade and sterling silver knife. “The nephrite is from the Covelo area of California,” he says. “The rough jade piece weighed in at 11 pounds....
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by Don Deycous August 2011 August Craftsman of the Month Don Deycous, of Ephrata, Washington, writes, “One Saturday morning, while at the local Farmers and Crafters market as a vendor, I was outside my book looking at how I had set up my display. The table looked very nice, with one exception: my business...
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by James Rundle July 2011 “I found my first piece of nephrite jade in Wyoming in 1978,” writes July Craftsman of the Month James Rundle of Firth, Idaho. “I met an elderly gentleman who had his own claim in the desert, by the name of ‘Hap’. He taught me what to look for, windowed...
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by Sandra Takaro-Miller June 2011 “This necklace started with the center jasper cabochon,” writes June Craftsman of the Month Sandra Takaro-Miller, of Milton, Florida. “I was teaching a cabbing class at a local rock shop and I used the jasper piece as an example for step-by-step shaping and polishing the stone. When it was...
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by Daryl Devey May 2011 “Ever since I was young, I’ve enjoyed using welding techniques to make a variety of sculptures from odds and ends in my garage,” says May Craftsman of the Month Daryl Devey, “but it wasn’t until my daughter and I began rock hunting that I realized I could take...
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by Peg Otto April 2011 “My project originated from the need to do something creative with the beautiful rocks my husband has been tumbling and collecting for many years,” writes April Craftsman of the Month Peg Otto, of Rayland, Ohio. “This project has two phases. The first phase began when we remodeled our kitchen....
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