REBOOT. Rock Appreciation Day.

To get back into the groove of these I'm reposting an old Rock Appreciation Day from 2013. As these are all older images please excuse the image quality and old trademark.

For each 1st of the month a different stone or gemstone type will be highlighted and given information on. Jewelry examples using that month's stone will be featured along with current for sale pieces using the stone. As a general disclaimer, I am no lapidary (stone) artist nor gemologist. All information I post here is researched by myself and sources for stone/mineral information can be given upon request. 

For Rock Appreciation Day this month we have:  

King's Manassa Mine Turquoise

Manassa mine turquoise has also been called King’s Manassa turquoise, King’s turquoise, and was originally called the Lick Skillet mine. It is located in South Central Colorado near Manassa. The Manassa mine is reputed to be the oldest turquoise mining deposit in Colorado, and was speculated to have been mined by the Anasazi Pueblo peoples. The mine was “rediscovered”, or founded, by Israel Perviose King when he was searching for gold in 1894. He filed claim on it the next year. The mine has stayed with the King family and is now with his grandson Bill King.

The turquoise from this mine is some of my favourite. It is known for it’s deep greens with host rock rhyolite golden brown matrix, but can produce turquoise in a range of colours.

The turquoise can come in solid colour, bi-coloured, or with host rock webbing. It pairs beautifully with gold and some of the most saturated dark greens are among the most collectible. I love that turquoise from this one area has been used for over 1,000 years and is still seen as a prized and treasured finite commodity.

Below are photos of pieces used with Manassa turquoise that have been sold or claimed.

That's all folks!

If you have any suggestions for a stone or gem to be highlighted for next month please comment below!

Tucson Gem Show!

Alright folks. This is going to be a fairly long post, so hold tight.

To give a brief summary, I'm sharing my experience and rock haul from the Tucson Gem Show this year. Anything marked N/A in the photo is not available for custom orders. All other stones are up for grabs and will ONLY be fully reserved once you nail a design down with me and a deposit for said design has been paid. Please be aware that unless you've sealed a piece with me, I may be showing the same stones to others.

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So. I started in New England, looking at this:

Packed up jewels from my personal collection to sport in the sun:

Took a few planes...

....and entered a region where aliens are abundant. Aliens. Yes. They are everywhere, in bizarre variations that look inviting yet are secretly hazardous...

And yes. I'm talking about these:

I swear these are the weirdest, coolest things. I got so many, "Uhm how many photos of cacti is this girl going to take???" stares. I don't even care.

Oh yeah. There was also the huge gem show all over the city, that was cool too.

(^natural rough Sleeping Beauty mine turquoise)

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Now, onto conquests.

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^Broken Arrow mine variscite. natural. straight from the mine owner.

^Burtis Claim Cripple Creek mine turquoise. natural.

^Royston turquoise and Royston ribbon cut turquoise. natural.

^Royston turquoise. natural.

^White Buffalo turquoise. natural. Straight from the mine owner.

^Blue Moon mine turquoise. natural.

^Royston ribbon cut turquoise. natural.

^ left to right: New Lander mine, Peacock mine, Carico Lake mine, Number 8 mine (!!! truly!), Damele mine.

All natural.

^the amazingly tight webbing in this one is hard to photograph.

^this one has a very high dome.

^ Sleeping Beauty mine turquoise. natural.

^Fox // Cortez mine turquoise. natural.

^old stock Number 8 mine turquoise. natural.

^Royston turquoise. natural. Along with some strays.

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That's the haul folks! I hunted and enjoyed the skies of the Southwest

Then I returned home to a series of snow storms. Fantastic.

Keep a look out as I'll be posting NEW ITEMS to preview here on the blog this coming Sunday before they hit the shops!

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SALE NEWS

From tonight until next Thursday at midnight, enjoy 15% off of your order in the Main Etsy Shop with coupon code:

SNOWVERDOSE

in honour of there being too much snow here and wanting to empty the shelves in the shop a bit for new items! Sale does not apply to custom orders, minimum purchase of $25 required to apply.

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KEEP POSTED FOR SUNDAY.

In the meantime, if you aren't in a sunny land, stay warm and bundle up!

xx Stray Arrow

Inside The Stray Arrow...

Things are now settled, it's time to share the new place and new jewels!

Here is a tiny peak at my new place, and some detail shots of the new studio...

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^Russian music boxes that each play a different theme from "Fiddler on The Roof", antique mirror with Stray Arrow Featherblade necklace, and my favourite designated CAVE LADY plaque. The music boxes represent an old memory from one of my grandmothers. The plaque was made for me by the dear Tory of ToryNova, featuring me in true Cave fashion on the left, and her in true T-REX fashion on the right.

^ My favourite old TURQUOISE TREASURE CHEST. I scored this favoured piece at an antique & flea market. The Marines illustrated fold out piece was acquired along the St. Martin Canal, Paris.

^ Three different Arrow Vane sizes. Painting of Muninn with oils, cold wax, and fire ashes.

^ My gargoyle Askewheteau ("He who keeps watch"). Dangling from him is one of the first finished necklaces I made 4-5 years ago. The necklace was an "East meets West" theme featuring a Southwestern Thunderbird and the three clans from the Kanienkehaka (turtle, wolf, bear). Dangling stones are white buffalo turquoise and Crow Springs mine turquoise.

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The Bookcase

with some snippets of my vast collection...

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JEWELRY DOCKING STATION

---where jewels await new homes---

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THE STUDIO...

I'm now in a shared studio space with other artists. These are just a couple of close ups. To see peaks of my space throughout its evolution you can follow me on Instagram: @thestrayarrow

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NEW JEWELS

---these new pieces will be added to BOTH shops by the end of the night---

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That's it folks! Thanks for keeping up and supporting my work. As always, there's more to come!

xx The Stray Arrow

News, News, and New News

WHEW!

It has been quite awhile since my last posting!

I'm pleased to say after months of hunting and some set backs, I have finally found a  studio space near my new apartment. I'm excited as it will be my first time sharing space in an artist building with painters, printmakers, and a sculptor! While I'm getting ready for this next venture in my life, setting up my studio and plastering the walls with hanging tools and Cave items, another hurdle is gaining speed....Holiday Madness. To start off this Holiday season, I'll be holding a SALE in the main Etsy shop this weekend. From MIDNIGHT Thursday to MIDNIGHT Monday enjoy 10% off all items (excluding custom orders). Use the coupon code below to claim your discount at checkout. To be clear about shopping with The Stray Arrow, I have updated my SHOP POLICIES which I encourage everyone to read over thoroughly.

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A couple new items will make it to the shop this weekend in my Cave line theme, including the mini goodies below. A new extra long Arrow Vane Shield ring will be available, plus this little Royston turquoise Arrow Vane. More new pieces are in the works in tandem with custom orders. Keep a look out as they'll be posted to my Instagram or Facebook page before hitting the shop.

To keep up with the studio space you can follow @thedooryardcollective on Instagram or Facebook- DooryardCollective. The Dooryard is the new home to The Stray Arrow Studio. If you're around Portland, ME come check us out! The Dooryard will be participating in First Friday Dec. 6, located at 108 High Street. Stop by for some drinks, food, jewelry, and all that other cool art stuff.

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Have a good weekend everyone- whether you're celebrating Thanksgiving, Remembrance Day, or just staying in to avoid shopping madness. I'll be in my new amazing space decorating and banging out orders with some cookies and coffee.

>>>>A Special Offer<<<<

For those following my blog here, I want to thank you for your support. For this weekend I'll be doing a 25% off sale when you spend $100+ in my shop for those larger items. Enter in the coupon code: KEEPINGUP at checkout.

xx The Stray Arrow

Soon....

Hey folks!

I've been traveling out of state. Rock Appreciation Day will be up tomorrow night with....

VARISCITE.

xx Stray Arrow.

New Stones, Peer News!

New stones scored yesterday at a gem show!

At the bottom of the post find new goodies by a friend and fellow artist, perfect to pair with crispy Fall weather...

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STONES ARE:

Shattuckite (very high grade), Native silver in Cobaltite (very high grade), rainbow moonstone, porcelain jasper, merlinite dendritic opal, pyrite in clear quartz, kyanite (two gems), green tourmaline, watermelon tourmaline slice, carey plume agate, agua nueva agate with druzy pockets! (collector quality), light pink agua nueva agate.

Any of these can be used for custom orders. The darker native silver piece in the bottom left of the first photo is being held for a piece I'm using in a Winter collection...

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Miss Tory of ToryNova has officially released printed leggings of deliciously soft and stretchy lycra featuring more of her own illustrations. These are great and stylish for staying warm in Fall. I've already got the Sea Voyage babies to pair with my new heeled ankle boots!

New Item Preview...

These couple of new rings will be hitting the shop today, ranging from size 6-7.

Check back to the blog late this afternoon or tomorrow to see the AMAZING new haul of gemstones and stones I got at the rock show yesterday!

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That's it folks! Check back soon. The stones posted later can be reserved for custom orders

xx Stray Arrow

New Item Preview

I've spent a little time lately outside of the studio, doing inventory of the pieces I already have made up. A ton of jewels have been sitting quietly and patiently in the corner, waiting to be photographed and listed. I'll be posting some of these throughout today (Sunday) and tomorrow. I've also reshot some oldies but goodies. Oldies will be posted first, followed by newer pieces. If you've been keeping up with my Instagram (@thestrayarrow), you may have seen some of these already!

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NEW JEWELS

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(ghost echo)

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Check back to the shop for these new pieces soon!

xx Stray Arrow

New Items, New Thoughts.

This post may be a bit longer, as I feel text has been slightly dwindling from this blog. Firstly, new items! These will be hitting the shop later tonight and tomorrow.

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Stone rings in natural old stock Royston and Manassa mine turquoise, and a luscious pink rhodochrosite.

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Other newer pieces include mini "Sweet Sayings" rings. These sterling bands feature delightful short quotes by yours truly. Each ring features a different quote, but they can be made to your size upon inquiry. Currently made are: "We are the brazen bold", and "A darling day for rain" (for the English). These sterling bands are patina darkened and then  polished to a steel like finish, with the darkened quotes hidden on the inside of the ring band. On the outside is my jeweler's mark. These also make great knuckle rings.

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A wampum necklace with mini wampum beads, old stock cut of green Manassa mine turquoise, wild horse magnesite Crossed Arrows dangles, and silver & rose gold stackers will be joining them.

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It's also been pretty evident that I've been somewhat neglectful of the Stretched Ears Jewelry shop. The Arrow Vanes, signature Stray Arrow wear, will soon be available in multiple gauge sizes in the shop. I'll also be making more plugs featuring rare turquoise (Blue Moon mine), and other designs quite soon.

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Now for my favourite new addition. Awhile ago I made a necklace for myself that, along with The Stray Arrow necklace, has become a signature daily piece. Out of bronze and silver sheet metal I made a 5 string banjo. Completed with a wrap around quote on the body, and sawed out arrow in the back. I'll be offering these in the shop as of tonight as a *CUSTOM* piece. The quotes and backing design can be customized. Four string banjos are also available. They'll put a little folk mountain life in you. No templates, all hand forged.

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That's it for new items for the next few days. I've also been working on some custom orders that'll be shown here and the usual outlets (Tumblr, Instagram @thestrayarrow, Facebook), once finished.

A Note-

I've been noticing people imitating my work. While this is a touchy subject that seems taboo to talk about, this is getting unavoidable. Artisan one of a kind jewelry design is a difficult art to protect when compared to other art fields. Copies will happen. "One offs" are tolerated and occasionally flattering if the artist is *given credit* as being behind the inspiration. This is unfortunately not the case. I have been seeing people not only imitate my very specific signature materials (not that one can ever claim to own such a thing), but my writing descriptions, photography style, work title style and themes, and my overall aesthetic entirely. A continual 'paraphrasing', if you will. Most people have the grace to come up with their own designs, for those that don't they bring down the work of others. I want to reiterate and remind everyone that if there is space to stamp my half inch "STRAY ARROW" logo onto an original piece, and it is not there, it is not made by me. This means that it is not backed by my quality guarantee, nor my 6 years of turquoise study experience. Just because a piece of turquoise is claimed from a mine does not equal good quality. I am an artist with eccentric interests, and my jewelry work is an extension of that. I try to be respectful of everyone's creative and intellectual property, and truly wish the same in return.

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In other news, I've been in the process of taking some jewelry group shots of pieces for things like packaging, cards, and promos (hint hint *soon*). Below are some of those shots, as well as some really great folks wearing my jewels. Click on their photos for their respective work links and check them out!

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^lady Arlie, of Urban Revisions in 14k yellow gold and dark silver faceted sapphire gem ring. Paired with her new white glass jewels!

^the extremely talented Rachel (photographer), in Royston turquoise and dark silver necklace.

^Dominique of Couture Vulture wearing Stray Arrow No-see-'ems, and mini crystal rings by Concrete Polish.

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Cave Ladies, Shooting in The Dark,

still a favourite.

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That's all folks! I leave you with an illustration from one of my favourites, the Pink Fairy Book~

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xx The Stray Arrow

Rock Appreciation Day and News-

For this double Rock Appreciation Day we have...

TOURMALINE & EMERALD GEMSTONES

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TOURMALINE:

Tourmaline is one of the most varied gemstones out there. It ranks a 7-7.5 on the hardness scale, and can come transparent to opaque, in any colour (colourless to black). The tourmaline gem is actually a group of mineral species, but because some of these minerals vary with varying colours, they are simply termed “tourmaline”.  Because there are so many colours, tones, and opacities to tourmaline, it can be mistaken easily and is usually termed solely by colour. There are many different varieties, for instance bi-colour, watermelon, chrome, etc. Rubellite tourmaline is a very rare type that was often mistaken for rubies in Russian crown jewels of the past. Tourmaline can hail from many places, including the USA, Russia, Sri Lanka, Africa, Brazil, Australia, and so on. Tourmaline has strong pleochroism, which means you can see different colours or depths of colour when viewed at different angles, such as when you rotate the stone in the light. Different varieties tend to have different clarities. Those of the blue/green variety can be eye clean, while the pinks of reds of the spectrum almost always have eye-visible inclusions. Tourmaline can come natural, or is sometimes heat-treated to bring out colour depth.

Tourmaline is both pyroelectric and piezoelectric. If a specimen is put under a pressure or temperature change, it will generate an electrical charge (how cool is that!?). When this happens, dust particles become attached to the crystal ends. For a long time tourmaline was known in Europe as aschentrekker (ash puller) as the stone was used by the Dutch to pull the ash out of their meerschaum tobacco pipes.

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EMERALD:

May birthstone, ranking a 7.5-8 on the MOH’s hardness scale. Personally one of my all time favourites… but being a May baby with green as a favourite colour, I’m biased. The colour of emerald (aka ‘emerald green’) is so unique it earns its status as one of the four “traditional” precious gemstones, along with diamond, ruby, and sapphire. The colour of emeralds is caused by small amounts of chromium and vanadium. It is in the Beryl family, and is essentially just the highest quality of beryl that can come transparent to opaque. Emerald is a particularly brittle gem. Natural emeralds almost always have inclusions and should be handled more gently. They are also almost always treated with oils, resins, or waxes. Exceptions are made for this treatment and for inclusions more than other gemstones. Inclusions and flaws are not always seen as negative, and can be an assurance that the gem is natural. Quality is determined by colour, and occasionally geographical origin. Emeralds can come from Africa, India, Russia, Brazil, Peru, among other places. Columbia is the center for mining emeralds, and South America in general produces the highest qualities. There a many stories and myths circling the emerald. The Egyptians mined it near the Red Sea, and it was said to be a favourite of Cleopatra. The Aztecs and the Incas both collected and valued emeralds, possibly regarding them as symbols for good luck and foresight.

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OTHER IMPORTANT NEWS:

My work load has become exceptionally large, and I can no longer be accepting any custom orders from May through the end of July. Unless I have already started conversations with you regarding a project, I simply don't have the extra time for them right now. This doesn't include "made to order" items. Essentially what is listed in the Etsy Shops is what's available. This hiatus does not apply to wholesale or consignment orders.

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A congratulations to the two winners of my Instagram Giveaway! For those of you unfamiliar with the application, you can do a little snooping and follow me @thestrayarrow, or check updates by clicking on the photo below.

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LAST BIT OF NEWS:

10% OFF ALL OF MAY!

For the entire month in the Main Shop, there is a 10% off deal on your order with the coupon code in the photo below. PLEASE do not forget to apply the code at purchase. I cannot issue refunds for those that forget to do so. Enjoy!

Merry May all!

xx Stray Arrow