Inappropriately Large Stone Stash

A big thanks to Emi Savacool for posting shots of some of her stones here, and sparking off my own stone related reflections and resulting blog post.

If you've been following this blog for a while, you'll notice that very few of my pieces have stones in them.  Plenty of the renderings do, but the actual pieces?  Nary a stone in sight.  For a while, my official stance on stones was, "What is the point in using stones, when I could enamel instead?"

I've since revised this position.  You'll notice that I'm enameling less these days.  (Although, I realize it's been a while since I've posted a fully finished piece.  I'm not currently planning on enameling my works in progress.)  I've also been thinking of stones, because when I move to L.A., I'd love to get a job rendering or designing to pay the bills, and a great number of people want designs with stones.

But that's not it, not really.  It's the stones themselves.  I've allowed myself to pick up one or two here and there, because I've been struck by the coloring, the patterning, the depth of them.  The stones have seduced me over to their side.

Unfortunately, my brain doesn't default to designing with stones, so they stay in my renderings, and the loose stones pile up.  I've developed quite a stash, in fact.  So, I present them to you here, in an effort to encourage myself to use them.

My current stash (or collection, if you will, as this implies less hoarding on my part) includes:

Cabochons:
Malachite, Ruby in Zoisite, Jade, Poppy Jasper, Garnet, Onyx, Hematite, Green Turquoise or Serpentine (not sure anymore), Luna Agate, Leopardskin Agate, Dinosaur Bone, Moonstone, Sunstone

Bullets:
Rutilated Quartz (these are the clear bits in the middle of the green and red cabochons at the top.  The rutilation is pretty light.)

Faceted:
Salmon Sapphire, two green mystery stones (probably CZs), Garnet hearts, Golden Topaz

Baroque Pearl

Agate Cameos


I love these stones.  Some of them I'll figure out what to do with.  The cameos I may never use, but they're so tiny that I just like to take them out and admire them.  But they're all so rich.

Now, all I have to do is figure out what to do with them.  (And stop sneaking more into my stash until I use some of what I've got!)