Post by kuranes on Sept 22, 2010 11:13:19 GMT -5
Hi everybody. I'm a rock collector in the suburbs of Chicago who would like to get into lapidary. I've got a lot of rough to use and ideas for jewelry but having an apartment versus a private residence makes the cutting and grinding part tough from several standpoints. I tried seeing if there were artist co-ops around where people could share such equipment if they were trusted, but ...people are afraid of their blades being mistreated and/or being sued by those who cut themselves, or just want to do their own thing with their home based set-ups, without visitors etc. It has been hard to find anyone who will even allow themselves to be hired to do this. Most Chicago area rock appreciators seem more focused on crystals and fossils and not lapidary.
So...if you are a person who is looking to collaborate with me ( I'm an artist too ) as a metalsmith, or who is open to being hired for cutting and possibly grinding/polishing, then.... let me know.
I do not own a tumbler yet, having focused on these other matters. Nor have I looked into faceting or spheres yet etc.
Failing that, I'm interested in meeting those who are relatively nearby who just want o hang out with a fellow rock hound.
I'm evaluating a type of rock I've never spent much time with before, due to perceived high costs, but I've seen some interesting things on Ebay that seem relatively inexpensive compared to others that look similar. For Australian opals. Aside from "caveat emptor" maybe there's some advice you guys can give me.
I'm just asking in a general "open-ended discussion" sort of way. I have some details fixed in my mind about how I want to proceed, but much is open to improvisation and dealing with factors as yet unknown, and so please don't hit me with a lot of specific questions along the lines of "Exactly what do you want to do?" on the forums. If it looks like we are a good fit together, I'll be happy to take the time to tyoe out a lot of specifics for you. ( In fact I'm notorious for giving people sometimes more detail than they want. ) initially I'm just feeling my way into this potentially new resource.
So...if you are a person who is looking to collaborate with me ( I'm an artist too ) as a metalsmith, or who is open to being hired for cutting and possibly grinding/polishing, then.... let me know.
I do not own a tumbler yet, having focused on these other matters. Nor have I looked into faceting or spheres yet etc.
Failing that, I'm interested in meeting those who are relatively nearby who just want o hang out with a fellow rock hound.
I'm evaluating a type of rock I've never spent much time with before, due to perceived high costs, but I've seen some interesting things on Ebay that seem relatively inexpensive compared to others that look similar. For Australian opals. Aside from "caveat emptor" maybe there's some advice you guys can give me.
I'm just asking in a general "open-ended discussion" sort of way. I have some details fixed in my mind about how I want to proceed, but much is open to improvisation and dealing with factors as yet unknown, and so please don't hit me with a lot of specific questions along the lines of "Exactly what do you want to do?" on the forums. If it looks like we are a good fit together, I'll be happy to take the time to tyoe out a lot of specifics for you. ( In fact I'm notorious for giving people sometimes more detail than they want. ) initially I'm just feeling my way into this potentially new resource.