Erin Dana Blazrette: Where is this material from, and what drew you to it?
Odie House: This is one of the many amazing agates that comes from Mexico. The vivid colors and banding have always caught my eye. It’s always fun to cab a premium material, and the results are amazing!
EDB: How long have you been a rockhound and lapidary artist, and what attracted you to cabbing?
OH: I’ve been a rock hound most of my life, collecting rocks and minerals with my father.
He was a great teacher. I have many fond memories of our trips together in Arizona.
EDB: What process do you use when creating cabs? Is there any special technique used when creating the featured cab?
OH: The process of cabbing for me starts with searching for that special rough material, that I always hope will prod duce quality cabochons.
EDB: What is a new cabbing approach that is bringing you great excitement?
OH: One of the ma any new opportunities presented daily is creating composite cabs. The material combinations are endless. They are a nice addition to the wonderful selection of natural materials available.
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Filling an Empty Space and Enhancing a Cabochon
I often look for a special feature within a slab when choosing the shape to cut into a cab.
Pterodactyls No Longer Birds of a Feather?
For a couple of decades now, feathered dinosaurs have been all the rage.
The Saga of COLORADO GOLD - 53 Million Troy Ounces and Counting
Colorado has been mining gold even before the region became a territory and is still mining it today.
SPECTACULAR NATIVE SILVER - Rarer Than Gold in Specimen Form
When it comes to naturally occurring precious metal specimens on Earth, finding native silver is not as easy as finding native gold.
PEARL OF THE PACIFIC - San Diego's Pacific Rim Park
Did you know, the Pearl of the Pacific was created in 1998 as a symbol of friendship and unity between the United States, Mexico, China and Russia?
POPULAR PSEUDOMORPHS - More Common Varieties Enhance Any Collection
In part one of this two-part series, which appeared in the December 2020 issue of Rock & Gem, we explained pseudomorphs as minerals whose normal form has changed, so they may look like the original but are now another mineral.
New Era Gems - CARVING A PATH AND CREATING A LEGACY
Think back to your 20th birthday; what were you doing? How did you celebrate?
DIAMONDS - A Luxury Gem Steeped in Fact & Fable
The diamond is one fabled gemstone! For example, google “Hope Diamond” to see all the legends associated with just this one stone said to bring misfortune to its owners.
Cleaning Without Chemicals
Do you have specimens like desert roses, quartz crystal clusters, or geode halves that sat for eons in the open before being collected?
Black Ilmenite and “Titanium White”
The bright-white color that we see in everything from highway lines, donut icing, and tooth-paste to paint, paper, plastics, and ceramics comes mostly from titanium dioxide, the world’s most widely used pigment.
