When I found a class that aligned with my birthday week, from an artist that I've witnessed from afar since the beginning of my smithing journey - I had to sign up! Her work is incredible - check it out here! We even spotted it "in the wild" when we were wandering around town after class, in the window of kitkitdizi !
The idea of getting to turn rocks that I collect when I am places that I love and turning them into jewelry that I can share with the world - has been a longtime dream of mine.
This year for my birthday, my partner took me to Black Butte Lake and we scoured the lake edges for little rocks that we could take with us to Nevada City the following Friday and turn into cabochons! It was SUCH a treat, that Leora was willing to teach the class to just the two of us when the other participants weren't able to make it last minute. What a gift to have a 1:1 lesson to learn something new in such a beautiful space!
My favorite part ended up being cutting the rocks in half and making slabs with them so we could see what was inside - almost NEVER what I expected - and how fun is that? The earth is pretty damn cool, right?!
My partner was like a natural, taking to the grinding wheels with a whole childhood of confidence shaping things besides rocks - there was a spark that reignited when he realized that this was the process - and friends, he was damn good at it.
You better believe that we signed up for the Feather River Lapidary Membership upon arriving home - the rock shop is open 2 days a week for a few hours - one day to make slabs, another to go back and cut/polish! I am really looking forward to all the knowledge we'll gain by being around old time rockhounds!
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