Pictures, Just Because

I'm still working on the camera. I need to get a setup in place so it's easy to turn on the lamps and get the lighting right. At the moment the light box is cluttering up my dining room table. 

But the other day I managed to get a photo of my cat, to show off the gorgeous colors of her coat.  Apparently my attempt to rename her "Petey" has been roundly rejected by everyone, including her. So she remains "Meri" pronounced "merry" for now.

I've gotten a shot of the commission piece for my friend Anne which I'm pretty satisfied with. I think this means I can now send it to her. A shot, and a detail of the pendant alone.

The large white stone piece came from the rock shop in Fortuna, CA, Chapman's. They say it's a fossilized piece of pine or cedar. Very heavy, but a nice neutral color and not too much texture to act as a background for pieces. I think it's a nice display piece. The rock is about 11" tall, so you can judge size by that. 

And then there's a very bad picture of a tagua nut bead I purchased at a trunk show at Brea Beadworks.  They were being sold by Sheilah Cleary, and I found this iguana among her beads.  She had quite a few iguanas, but I liked mine best because it's fat around the middle and looks pregnant.

Of course, I'm keeping my eye out for beads to compliment it, as it deserves to be the focal bead of a truly extraordinary piece.

It's about 2" at the longest, and even though much of the carving on the leaf is very thin and detailed, it's incredibly strong. The closest I can come to describing it is that it's like a light, strong resin or plastic. Except it's a natural nut, carved by hand, and dyed with natural forest dyes. Amazing.