I have very little time for lapidary work or anything else now that I've started school full-time (an MS program in counseling, my answer to the question pondered earlier this year), but I do believe my limited time at Dean and Conne's workshop is well spent. Still in practice mode, I worked this freeform lapis lazuli piece from a scrap left over from a recent batch of beautiful Two Cranes beads. I made it expressly for wirewrapping, and the gold-fill wire was an obvious choice given the beautiful pyrite that emerged as I ground and then polished the stone. I kept the wirework simple (improvising as usual) because, really, the stone is what we all want to see. The pendant measures a little over 1.5 inches (33 mm) and is on a necklace of lapis chips and rounds with vermeil (sterling silver plated with 18-karat gold) spacers and beads.
(BTW, the quote in this entry's title comes from Pliny the Elder, referring, of course, to lapis lazuli. Such an apt description.)
