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Year: 2021

Green plasma jasper from the shore of the Penobscot Bay, Maine

Green plasma jasper from the shore of the Penobscot Bay, Maine

By /October 29, 2021 /0 comments /Geology

So far this is the only stone not from The Carver and displayed on this website. Green plasma jasper is found on the shore of many (but not all) Penobscot Bay islands. It is a visitor to the Maine coast, carried by gigantic glaciers nearly two miles thick that came down from Canada to the Penobscot Bay and then melted approximately 10,000 years ago, leaving the green plasma jasper behind. The bedrock source of green plasma jasper has not yet been determined by me, but my guess is that its source is hundreds of miles north of the Penobscot Bay. This uniquely shaped pendant is approximately 3 inches long and set in goldfill. I think it would look good with a heavy gold chain or leather. Green plasma jasper Oval plasma jasper unset

New to the Shop: Pendants!

New to the Shop: Pendants!

By /October 29, 2021 /1 comment /Pendants

After much feedback, I have started a new product, in addition to my silver bracelets. Pendants which are set in sterling silver or goldfill are the new product. The bracelets are only set in sterling silver due to the fact that gold prices are astronomical. The pendants use much less precious metal and are, therefore, more affordable. The pendants also allow for more unusual setting designs and can accommodate more variable stone shapes. The pendants are sold without a chain so that you can decide on the style, length, and weight of the chain that suits you, or use one you may already own. You will find these new Pendants beginning on Page 3 of the Shop. Enjoy them and let me know what you think! Sagenitic agate in goldfill wirewrap Large Carver agate cross-section

Fragmented Filament Agate from The Carver Agate Field + Video

Fragmented Filament Agate from The Carver Agate Field + Video

By /September 6, 2021 /0 comments /Cut Rocks

Between gardening, yard work, and carpentry projects, I have been cutting a few stones this summer. The video below gives you a quick look at what I have been up to. Most of the stones are pretty, but one in particular (the fragmented filament agate) looks like a bottle full of eyebrows or eyelashes. You may ask “What the hell is a fragmented filament agate?” Well, I am going to tell you. Nodules, geodes and agates often form in the inside of gas bubbles that form in lava. The bubbles form while the lava is still hot and pliable. Later, after the lava has cooled, water containing silica and minerals permeate the lava and cracks in the lava entering the ‘bubble’ (technically called a vesicle or vug). Some of these minerals and silica will form a thin layer on the inside of the bubble. This thin layer sometimes scales off […]

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Four Stones I Just Cut and Really, Really Like!!

Four Stones I Just Cut and Really, Really Like!!

By /July 25, 2021 /3 comments /Cut Rocks

Photos 1 and 2: The huge 2 1/4″ cabs were each cut from the same Carver agate/jaspagate. Each has spectacular coloration and pattern and a tiny bluish fortification agate to set off the red/yellow/orange/green coloration. Photo 3: This Carver agate came from a geode slab I cut. Enlarge this picture by clicking on it and take a closer look!! One of the most beautiful agates I have cut! The tiny ‘vug’ goes nearly through the stone and is set off by blue banding. Photo 4: Carnelian agate with spectacular gold sagenitic inclusions.

TexasAmethystAgate Museum, Art Gallery, and Shop: A Video Tour and More!

TexasAmethystAgate Museum, Art Gallery, and Shop: A Video Tour and More!

By /July 23, 2021 /2 comments /News

Watch the tour and then read below for more details on the completion of the new headquarters: The Museum The wall shelves display the best and most diverse specimens I have found on The Carver Agate Field. The shelves are made from local cedar trees I cut on my property and had milled by a neighbor on his ‘bandmill’ sawmill. They are rough but work well! The work and equipment tables are all made from wooden pallets I salvaged from the shop construction project. I added wooden legs with roller wheels on each to allow the easy movement of all the tables. They can be locked in place by brakes on each wheel. The table tops are left over sheathing from the building construction project. The black plastic cabinets and drawers also have wheels and brakes. These contain polished museum specimens that could not fit on the wall shelves. The […]

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Carver Geode with New Mystery

Carver Geode with New Mystery

By /June 17, 2021 /8 comments /Geology

What are the tiny long black crystals inside the small white geode center? Baffles me! I have cut open and looked at literally thousands of The Carver agate field nodules and geodes, but I have never seen this before. I am hoping to find someone to identify what this is. The fact the tiny fragile crystals survived cutting and washing is amazing to me. I hope some of my West Texas rocker friends can help solve this mystery.

A First! Ametrine Geode Discovered on The Carver!

A First! Ametrine Geode Discovered on The Carver!

By /June 16, 2021 /0 comments /Geology

Ametrine is a single stone which is part amethyst (purple quartz) and part citrine (yellow quartz). While I have found some great amethyst geode crystals on The Carver, citrine geode crystals are rare indeed. The most exotic and rare was the perfect citrine crystal I named The Unicorn after the mystical single-horned animal which has never been, in fact, found in nature. Rock & Gem magazine featured this stone which can be seen on this website. What has until now never been seen by me in the thousands of nodules and geodes I have discovered on The Carver and cut open is the combination of purple micro-crystalline quartz and citrine banding in a single band in a single geode. Pictured here is 1/2 of the ametrine geode (photo #4225) and three cabs from the same geode which I have cut and polished. As you view each photo, the citrine portion […]

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Gordon Sanborn: Another rocker friend ‘leaves the building’

Gordon Sanborn: Another rocker friend ‘leaves the building’

By /May 20, 2021 /1 comment /News

My good rocker friend Gordon Sanborn, of The Daily Grind in Alpine, Texas, passed recently.  Gordie was a highly talented lapidist who ground rocks to sell, but mostly because he (like me!) just liked to make rocks shiny!  Gordie, who was from Detroit 70+ years ago, lost interest early on in formal education.  Instead, he explored the world and learned from it.  And learn he did!  He was a true artist with an enormous amount of creativity!  This creativity resulted in Gordie developing skills as diverse as boat building, flint knapping, and lapidary.  He even made his own Australian horn–a didgeridoo.  He has lived the diversity of America, from Detroit to Maine, Colorado, Alaska, and lastly, Texas.  He lived life in these places with an amazing skill-set that allowed him to live with self-sufficiency and personal freedom.  A free spirit who lived life to its fullest . . . on his […]

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Easter Gallery from ‘The Carver’ Agate Field Collection

Easter Gallery from ‘The Carver’ Agate Field Collection

By /April 11, 2021 /1 comment /Cut Rocks

Another two weeks of exploring, cutting and polishing stones from ‘The Carver’ agate field. Please visit the new Maine Gallery entitled ‘Easter Gallery’ to see them. These stones are from several different areas of The Carver agate field, hence, many look quite different. These specimens display some of the best colors and patterns. Try viewing them on a large screen if you can. Also try to see the amazing stones’ structure via enlargement. Not included in this gallery is another ‘first time seen’ from ‘The Carver’ agate field. The next posting will feature this ‘first’!

Finally: New Shop Up and Running! AND a new Photo Gallery!

Finally: New Shop Up and Running! AND a new Photo Gallery!

By /March 2, 2021 /1 comment /Cut Rocks

Months behind schedule, the shop is making rocks shiny again, although the building is not yet complete. So much for ‘getting done before the snow flies!’ The silversmith shop is built, but I have yet to find my smithing tools which are in ‘below zero’ storage. I have so many 5 gallon buckets of as yet uncut ‘Carver’ stones, it will no doubt take a few years to complete the intensive high grading. Not a problem I mind having, since the most fun (after collecting in the field) is cutting the stones open and seeing the amazing beauty and diversity of colors and agate/jasper types awaiting my eyes. I’ll be sharing this amazing diversity of color, patterns and agate types as I cut and polish. For now, I am showing the new discoveries so far since the shop reopening. These are the result of opening just ONE tub of rocks […]

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