A Lapidary Course
Featuring the work of Doreen White
Doreen is our club member who once lead the Lapidary Workshop at Fairkytes Arts Centre. Unfortunately, the workshop facility had to be closed because of escalating costs.
However, Doreen now continues the hobby from her garden shed, as do a few more of us. She also has the knack of finding commercial courses tailored for those in the trade and/or keen enthusiasts!
Her work illustrated bellow is from a course she attended at Holts of Hatton Garden.
Sodalite:
A round cabochon cut a polished by Doreen. Above this is displayed a cut slab of Sodalite rough. (The term "rough" being used to describe the stock material from which the cabochon is cut.)
Notice
how the polished cabochon is darker than the stock material, quite a common
effect especially noticeable with Sodalite!
Please note that the pictures are not to scale, the true size being somewhat
smaller.
An
example of a Malachite cabochon. This piece displays well the
banded patterns of Malachite. Doreen achieved a good polish on
this one!.
Malachite is a
soft stone and not suitable for jewellery that would be subjected to
rough treatment, like being chucked in the jewellery box every night
or used in everyday rings. It would soon lose its polish. Another
problem is that the stone reacts with quite a few household cleaning
chemicals that would destroy the finish. (You could apply this
warning to Sodalite as well.)
Rose
Quartz oval cabochon resting on an off-cut of Rose Quartz rough!
This is not an easy stone to get a pleasing effect from. It cuts
and polishes well, and gives one a feel for how the "harder"
stones have to be treated. Obviously, Doreen is being guided through
the range of hardness of stones as she progresses through the course.
This stone has a good symmetrical shape and again a lovely finish, that
doesn't show that well in this picture.
Wow!
I like this one.
The course must have started really "cooking"!
Quite a few things have happened here. Perhaps first drilling the hole. Then shaping the cab and lastly, cutting the crisscross pattern. Don't underestimate the polish on this one. Getting down into those groves and polishing them is not easy. I'll have to ask Doreen for a few tips.
The material is
Carnelian, a variety of quartz.
Above are the certificates Doreen gained whilst on the course. She really did enjoy herself.
Yes, it's costly, but if you have never done anything like this before it is money well spent to find out if you like doing it! The expense starts when it comes to getting your own equipment. Holts, like any business, have massive overheads and hence the costs. Doreen said that Holts went to the Nth degree to make everyone feel at home with coffee/tea/biscuits on tap, and wonderful buffet lunches, all included. Talking of food, this leads us nicely on to Doreen's last piece featured here (and done at home).
Egg
and Bacon!
Nice reminder Doreen
I'm
off for my breakfast.
RC 6/01/2002
Don't forget to check Holts' website www.rholt.co.uk for further details and courses.