So the Gem Faire has come and gone, and while I had only marginally met the Challenge, I have since done quite a bit of beadwork. I am not quite prepared to say that I'm in a groove, but I may have been scared straight.
The GF was, as usual, a feast for the eyes. I was pretty good for the most part ... selected inexpensive things that I will be able to use easily to make jewelry or art, things that fall neatly in line with the direction my aesthetic has been taking. But then, at the very end, and actually even PAST the end because I went to the GF two days in a row ... I indulged.
There was a lapidary artist from upstate, who has come to these things before and I've bought his pieces before, because he really is an artist. This time, on day 1, I chose mostly things from his bargain tray. But another piece was really calling to me, and I couldn't stop thinking about it. It is possibly the most beautiful agate cut I've seen, a hemisphere thinly sliced from a geode of blue-gray banded chalcedony, translucent and delicate, with at the center a dusting of drusy crystals.
So on day 2, when we were heading back out to Santa Monica anyway, Mr. P dropped me off and I visited another vendor I'd intended to see, and then I went back to the lapidary and I bought the agate.
It was $60, which isn't a lot in the big scheme of things, and especially if you know what goes into good lapidary work. If I manage to make something with this stone (I have a few ideas) I will have to price it fairly high compared with most of my other things, because I typically don't use stones (heck, I don't BUY stones) that are more than $30. But whatever eventually becomes of it, I'm happy to have it.
On the thrifty side, I was at Shelly's Discount Dancewear yesterday and found an ice-blue ballgown for $150. It's honestly as nicely made as some I've seen from competition vendors for ten times as much. I'm really kind of thrilled!
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