Tag Archives: jewelry

A Week of Lapidary Learning

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I attend a week-long lapidary class at the William Holland School of Lapidary Arts in Young Harris, GA.

It all started when I watched a YouTube video about lapidary intarsia. I thought the resulting cabochons were very cool and had the potential to help my take my jewelry work to the next level.

Some definitions might be in order before I go on:

  • Lapidary is the process of shaping and polishing stones into decorative items such as cabochons, engraved gems (such as cameos), and faceted designs. Read more on Wikipedia.
  • Intarsia is a method of seamlessly combining stones, normally to make cabochons, but possibly as part of an inlaying process. (The Wikipedia entry discusses wood intarsia; stone intarsia is similar but with stone.)
  • Inlay is similar to intarsia but the stones are cut to fit precisely into a pre-made metal frame. (I’m also interested in learning how to do inlays.)

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Boating: My Unexpected Fifth Career

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I am pleasantly surprised that my boat experience and captain’s license are paying off with some fun, often challenging gigs.

A lot of folks criticize me for (or are in awe of) the number of “irons I keep in the fire.” Simply said, I have a lot of interests and when something really strikes my fancy, I dive in headfirst and do what I need to do to become an “expert.”

That’s how teaching myself how to use computers in the early 1990s paid off with a career as a computer how-to book author, speaker, and educator, freeing me, once and for all (at age 29), from the 9 to 5 grind of corporate America.

That’s how learning to fly helicopters and eventually jumping through the hoops required to get a charter (AKA Part 135) certificate got me a third career as a helicopter pilot, which started climbing to its peak in 2012, right around the time people stopped buying computer how-to books.

That’s how accumulating cabochons at rock shows led to making jewelry which led to getting good silversmith training and setting up my own fully-equipped studio and making/selling sterling silver jewelry at art shows. When I sold the helicopter and my two helicopter businesses, I really thought silversmithing would be my fourth career (and first retirement career) and I suppose I can still count it as that.

But I never expected my boating activities to lead to paying gigs on both coasts, bringing in retirement income just as silver prices skyrocketed and the economy led to people not spending much money on things they didn’t need. After a dismal winter art show season in Seattle and the Phoenix area, I’ve pretty much set my silversmithing activities aside to better explore this fifth career as a boat captain.

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New Mexico Explorations

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I take about two weeks to explore southwestern New Mexico.

I’ve been going south for the winter ever since I moved to Washington State in 2013. (Before that, when I lived in Arizona, I went north for the summer starting in 2008.) I usually spend most of my time in Arizona, although there’s a hot spring in California that I like. And, of course, in the winters of 2022/23 and 2023/24, I was on my boat in the southeastern US, spending an awful lot of time in Florida. (You can learn more about that in the My Great Loop Adventure blog where I’ve written quite a bit about that trip.)

The Backstory for My Trip to New Mexico

Last year, I came dangerously close to buying a 5-acre piece of land southeast of Tucson, AZ. It was partially developed with a driveway, a building pad, and a well and was close to electricity for an easy hookup. And views! Although they weren’t as good as my current views, I certainly could have lived with them.

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It’s Not Enough to Make Art

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You also have to jump through hoops to sell it and account for it.

When was the last time you bought something from the person who made it? A piece of pottery, a wooden jewelry box, a framed painting, a hand-bound notebook, a leather wallet, a pair of earrings?

Do you have any idea what went into that item, from the moment it was imagined by the artist to the moment you took possession of it?

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Why I’m Not Blogging as Regularly as I Used To

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I think there are two reasons this time, one familiar and one new.

Let’s face it: I’ve been blogging at An Eclectic Mind since long before it had that name. My first blog post was way back in 2003. The blog had my name back then, Maria Langer, and it could be found at MariaLanger.com — where it can still be found; try it! I wrote about the things that were on my mind. For a while, I wrote computer-related how-to content, but I eventually broke that out and put it into a site called Maria’s Guides which I’ve since allowed to die. I wrote a lot about politics. I wrote a lot about my work and my play. I wrote a lot about my crazy divorce. I wrote a lot about social media. I wrote a lot about building a new life in Washington State.

Heck, I just wrote a lot about anything that was on my mind.

And that’s what I personally think a blog is for. At least this blog.

There are no ads here. No tracking. No annoying pop-ups begging you to subscribe or send me money. It’s just the blog of a writer — a person who has always written — sharing what’s on her mind.

If you come here often to read my latest and actually like a lot of what you read, great! I’m thrilled to have you here!

But if you stumbled in here unknowingly and have concluded that this blog is crap and a total waste of your time, well, just go away and don’t come back. It doesn’t bother me.

And if you think that’s harsh, well blame social media. (Also understand that “go away” is not what I originally wrote.)

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