So, I know what your saying to yourself. What the heck happened to Days 5,6, & 7? Well, the internet connection wasn’t so great those days, unfortunately. So, I will try to recall to the best of my ability what happened in those days.
Day 5
This day was the day I finished an opal all by myself, including the shape. I finished several opals over the course of the day, with Sarah only helping with advice and shaping on a particularly tough teardrop shape and getting an oval shape a bit tighter. I felt so accomplished and proud of myself. The opal I finished by myself was a very deep Pink Peruvian Opal with dendritic formations. It turned out to be a rhombus shaped stone. I thought it was very pretty. I also finished a very large oval Green Peruvian Opal, which I think will make a great pendant stone. The other stone I finished was a White Mexican Opal in a free-form teardrop shape. It turned out very pretty. It has some flash under the light. It was a very good day. It was also our last full opal cutting day.
Day 6
Saturday was our last class. It was a bittersweet day for me. To think that only one week ago, I did not even know how to cab a stone, much less cut an opal, and there I was finishing my sixteenth opal. (It ended up being a round red Mexican Opal.) I even ventured a non opal by cabbing a small piece of fossilized dinosaur bone. The larger piece broke apart, but the smaller piece I salvaged cabbed just fine. My whole aim there was to see if I could cab any stone myself, and before the larger piece broke, it was looking pretty nice. (It broke because I hadn’t stabilized it.) Unfortunately, we had to have the classroom cleaned and presentable before lunch began.
After lunch, we proceeded to evaluations. No, not teacher evaluations, Opal Evaluations. We learned how to properly value opals. Each of us took our Precious Opal and went through steps to properly make an estimated trade value on our opals. Needless to say, many of us were pleased with the results, especially those who had brought their own rough to cut. The two I was able to value were decent. They were from the kit so they weren’t the true high-end rough, but at least they had value. Unfortunately, the procedures used are copyrighted.
At the end of the day, we all said our class goodbyes, but we still had “Show & Tell” that night. We were able to display our work, along with other students from different classes, along several tables. Each class had a spokesperson talking about the instructor and the class experience as a whole.
Everyone had a positive experience, and the work I saw just made me want to take every class available, not only for the fun, but so I can expand on my jewelry making skills.
I thuroughly enjoyed my experience at Wildacres, and I hope to continue to attend classes there and other jewelry workshops.
Day 7
This was the last day of the workshop. It was basically filled with packing, breakfast, checkout, and final goodbyes. My friends and I packed up and began our journey home. Along the way, we stopped and several little shops and a mineral museum along the Blue Ridge Parkway. While at the museum, I saw these copper nuggets, and I saw that there were holes perfect for stringing chain or wire through. With all the inspiration I’ve received from this trip, I’ve decided to incorporate them in a new piece I will dedicate to my first trip to Wildacres.
It is good to be home.
