Eccentric Ideas that started with Amber.
As the classic expression goes:
" I was minding my own business when..."
That's when I get my nuttier ideas. Today's nutty ideas started when I was unpacking a small shipment of mineral/ mineral like specimens for the shop. Among the items was a package of jet slabs. They were a few inches long, about a 1/4 inch thick and at least two inches wide in places. I thought to myself "I bet I could carve this stuff". Then I imagined Thor's Hammers and other Norse subjects made of jet... then of course, amber came to mind. Soon, I was visualizing many kinds of objects made from combinations of amber, jet, mammoth ivory, caribou antler and bone.
So, I started poking around the net for sources of raw amber. Of course, the stuff is sold by the gram, and it is not cheap, especially for larger pieces. I was looking at various descriptions of different grades when it struck me: amber is a resin... and so is dragon's blood.
Off I went again. There seem to be a few different plants that "real dragon's blood" resin can come from. One of them is a form of cinnabar. I definitely have seen cinnabar carvings.
See where this is going? I think I might like to practice my inlay and carving with Dragon's Blood resin before moving into amber. Wow. That might be really interesting!
" I was minding my own business when..."
That's when I get my nuttier ideas. Today's nutty ideas started when I was unpacking a small shipment of mineral/ mineral like specimens for the shop. Among the items was a package of jet slabs. They were a few inches long, about a 1/4 inch thick and at least two inches wide in places. I thought to myself "I bet I could carve this stuff". Then I imagined Thor's Hammers and other Norse subjects made of jet... then of course, amber came to mind. Soon, I was visualizing many kinds of objects made from combinations of amber, jet, mammoth ivory, caribou antler and bone.
So, I started poking around the net for sources of raw amber. Of course, the stuff is sold by the gram, and it is not cheap, especially for larger pieces. I was looking at various descriptions of different grades when it struck me: amber is a resin... and so is dragon's blood.
Off I went again. There seem to be a few different plants that "real dragon's blood" resin can come from. One of them is a form of cinnabar. I definitely have seen cinnabar carvings.
See where this is going? I think I might like to practice my inlay and carving with Dragon's Blood resin before moving into amber. Wow. That might be really interesting!