I seem to hav e had the Writers Block of sphere making.  I hope it was broken yesterday.

I realize that every time I start a new material to sphere, it is a new learning curve.  So far it has been a tall wall that has been unsaleable.  I hope yesterday day I made it over the top by finishing a Lions Skin Sphere.  

The past few weeks have been filled with frustration in trying to figure out the best way to get material worked.  There has been a lot of back and forth motion as I dealt with chipping and scratches.  This was across the board with the lions skin tiger eye, the chrysocolla- malachite material from Copper World Mine, Parrot Wing, and Tiffany stone.

The Lions Skin is interesting because the golden tiger eye is mixed with white quartz.  It is a combination of extremely hard and soft requiring constant observation to keep it round.  If it is even slightly out of round, the scratches from the previous step will never come out.

The copper World material and Parrot wing has been the standard chipping as the chrysocolla is not forgiving.  One bump and you lose a small piece requiring filling with red finger nail polish and going back to rough grind until it is gone.  I really should figure out how to stabilize this material but hate the thought.

The Tiffany stone is unlike any I have worked before.  Because of the inherent pits in the material, it has been difficult to stop small scratches from forming.  Even thought I water pick between steps, there always seems to be one piece of dirt that escapes me.

Today I hope to photograph the Lions Skin Sphere and get it on the site and also polish the other 3. 

Today is a zoom day with all the family.  We are safe as of this time.  I hope that is the same for you also!

Thanks for reading.......