Day 2 at WildAcres was even more interesting than the 1/2 day that was yesterday. Today, I cut my first opal. It was an Australian Fern Opal with Dendrites. It has a mustard yellow color with black branches stretching out in everywhich way like tree branches. It turned out pretty well, if I do say so myself. Unfortunately, it cracked at the tip and had to be rebuffed to remove the chipped edge. (This was my fault because I forgot to move the water spitter to the lap wheel I was using so it was dry. Hey, it was my first time ever cabbing a stone. Give me a break. I am allowed one mistake, right.) I ended up with a smaller stone, but Sarah, my instructor, said it looked very nice. Its shape ended up being sort of a modified pear.
Sarah began the class by using my Fern Opal to demonstrate to the class the steps to cutting the opal into a nice cab. She chose me, because I was the only person in the class who had never cabbed any type of stone before. Once I got my hands on the stone and used to the cabbing machine, which was a Genie (for those who cab or wanted to know), I began cabbing fairly easily. Sarah is an excellent teacher and has her own technique of cabbing that can be used not only on opals, but other material as well.
Well, I finished up the Fern Opal, and I began working on my second ever opal, which was a Pink Peruvian Opal. It turned out very pretty with some nice banding across the center. It sort of looks like a Picasso head. (In case you haven’t realized, these are freeform cabs. I might try my hand at a calibrated cab with some other pieces.)
My next piece was a Spencer Opal from Idaho. It was fairly large since it was cut right there in the classroom. I first cut the girdle to get the light in it and to decide on which side would be my top and which would be my bottom. Once I got that done, I set to work shaping the top, blending, and buffing until I got the mirror finish I wanted to get. Unfortunately, this was about the time where my dop or holder (i.e. a nail) kept falling off (twice). Sarah had to glue on a different nail with extra glue around it to keep that sucker from falling off. Well, after that adventure, I was able to get that piece done and polished. Alas, one side was too rough since Spencer opal is found within a matrix, usually of a material called Rhyolite, which is quite a beautiful stone in itself. Sarah had to help me out with that since she understood where to buff it without messing up my nice diamond finish. (Literally, it is diamond since getting that nice sheen is due to using diamond laps or wheels of varying grits. Very cool, neh.).
The Spencer was to be my last opal for the day. I did start the girdle on my Mexican Opal, but since it has such nice crystal formations on both sides, I have been steered toward making it a double cab. Yay, I get to do something else I’ve never done before.
So, I’m off to figure out how exactly one makes a double cab, which I will attempt tomorrow, along with a triplet, a doublet, a “bacon” opal, and a precious opal. Then the real fun begins when I get to choose which opals I would like to cab.
That’s right. I am going Wild… Acres that is. At this moment, I am writing about my first class in Opal Cutting at the Wild Acres Retreat near Spruce Pine, North Carolina. I am about 3300 ft above sea level among picturesque mountains and dangerous falling acorns. (Ouch… oh, it was only my head.)
Well, it wasn’t my first class. My first official class begins tomorrow, bright and early. My teacher’s name is Sarah Lee Boyce. She’s been teaching Opal Cutting for a long time now, and she teaches mostly here and at a school called William Holland in Georgia. Let me tell you, she’s a straight-shooter type of person, but also very, very sweet. (I know this because of how nice she is being to a little, old beginner like me.)
Basically, what she did tonight was go over the outline of the class. We will be learning how to handle our opal cutting/cabbing machines; learn to “read” opals of all kinds; cut the opal so as to not lose much rough; repair any mistakes if need be; and finally grade and price opals.
So, I bet you are really wanting to know, “Why Opal Cutting?”. Well, for this session, it was my first choice. I like opals of all kinds, and I thought it would be cool to learn how they were cut. Maybe, even cut some decent ones to make pendants for my jewelry a la Hooks & Toggles Exclusives. (To be honest though, my very first, first choice would have been Silversmithing, Beginning, but that was not available this session so I went with Opal Cutting instead, but don’t tell Sarah.)
Anyways, I think it is going to be a very interesting class. Hopefully, I will learn a lot and grow as a jewelry maker as well as someone who designs jewelry.
Here’s to me not screwing up… too badly.
