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The Corroboree

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Nice thread, nice carvings. I am not so much into decoratives and shit, but these really look pro.

I think this shit requires very good hands. I mean skilled hands, not the stuff you can learn to be good at, like graftin cacti. REAL hand skills...

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My work bench

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Carving jade requires the use diamond burrs and they require the use of water. As I have limited water I use a aquarium pump to recirculate the water.

Typical POV of me working.

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Work in progress!

The design

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Here the jade has been cut out using a holesaw (11cm dia) and the interior circles removed and the crossovers carved out.

One could finish here but I like the contrast of two differing edges and will carve it further to reveal the translucency of the jade.

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Edited by teonanacatl
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Some of my rough jade.

From left to right; Guatemalan blue jadeite, Guatemalan ice jadeite, celestial blue jadeite from Guatemala, Clear Creek nephrite (this one has no translucency), Yukon snow nephrite, blue nephrite from the Yukon, British Columbian nephrite.

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The real magic happens when you shine a light through them- Ill try and photograph that later.

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Love your work man !

Were you worried that last one could break during the process of carving out the inner ings and drop the center out ?

Also if someone wants something made to order do you have any way to estimate the the time it would take to carve it, or do you just get stuck into it and see how long it takes ?

I had my eye on an awesome jade dragon in a Chinese antique shop for over a year, it had $1800 on but they sold it before I could scrape up enough for reasonable deposit.

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I havent finished that last one yet as it developed a crack- so yes Im worried but Ive got some fancy epoxy to stabilise it. Cracks cant be helped sometimes, though one can plan around those present in the initial stages.

Ill be very happy when its done and in one piece- I do like to push the material to its limits :)

Yeah I can estimate the time it will take pretty well and I only charge what I quote. PM me if you're keen.

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thanks for showing your workbench , proceedure, materials and all, pretty interesting!

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Update, used my new bench grinder to shape the outside circle. Since then Ive been cleaning up the crossovers inside and out.

The epoxy I used to stabilise the cracks worked great!

The red pen is just to mark where to remove more material, it also shows where the high and low spots are when carving as well as any lines or file marks :)

Lots more to go though Im feeling confident I can pull it off!

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I would Love to buy one of your pieces. What kind of prices do you have?

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I havent finished that last one yet as it developed a crack- so yes Im worried but Ive got some fancy epoxy to stabilise it. Cracks cant be helped sometimes, though one can plan around those present in the initial stages.

Ill be very happy when its done and in one piece- I do like to push the material to its limits :)

Yeah I can estimate the time it will take pretty well and I only charge what I quote. PM me if you're keen.

Thanks for the reply Teo, sorry I missed it the other day.

As much as I'd love to own a piece of your work there's no way I could afford it at the moment.

Edited by Sally

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Well Ive got my website up and running, there are pieces on there Red with prices.

http://www.larridinya.com

Otherwise if you have a design you'd like Im happy to make it for you. In general most pendants come out between $150-300 depending on detail and material.

PM me if your interested.

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just purchased a lovely piece of artwork to wear around my neck!

website is easy to use, can't wait to see it first hand, im sure i will like it.

good to see australian craftsmen around, should be more of it!

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The chinese had two criteria for selecting jade carving. The first was that the carving had to be so perfect that no mortal could have carved it. The second was that the carving (abstract or not) should imbue life, that is you could imagine taking your eyes off it and it moving. These are things I try (sometimes successfully) to put into my work.

The only other piece of advice I have is "make it look handmade, not homemade".

I havent finished that last one yet as it developed a crack- so yes Im worried but Ive got some fancy epoxy to stabilise it. Cracks cant be helped sometimes, though one can plan around those present in the initial stages.

Ill be very happy when its done and in one piece- I do like to push the material to its limits :)

Yeah I can estimate the time it will take pretty well and I only charge what I quote. PM me if you're keen.

So just out of interest - [sorry quoting you from a different thread] - would this be deemed by you homemade or handmade and does this allow for you to meet the two chinese criteria or is this piece a failure because its not perfect??

How much will this piece cost to buy?? or is this a piece you won't sell because it isn't perfect???

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I don't come here much anymore but this sort of made me curious and made me smile a bit - I love jade carvings :)

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Fractures are common in most jade. Quality jade can sell for up to $360US/gram and even more for perfect green cabochons etc- it is the most expensive gem after diamonds.

So the quality of jade used in carvings is often lower and this means the presence of fractures. Some fractures are visible and some are not. Sometimes cracks form- this can be the artists fault for allowing bits to get to hot etc, or sometimes they just happen. A piece of jade without fractures or cracks would be called flawless, often pieces that are sold as flawless have healed cracks anyway. Perfection for me would have more to do with the form of the piece and if my lines were straight and my curves perfect. One could pull that off on a flawed stone and the cracks or imperfections can add character to a piece.

The same occurs with mammoth ivory and other ivories and the people who carve them into netsuke are happy enough stabilising cracks with glue, though I doubt they would sell a piece that had cracked in half and been glued back together for example.

So no I dont think this has anything to do with handmade vs homemade.

As for the Chinese criteria- I like to think someone would look at that piece and value the unique design as well as the perfect finish I was hoping for. Its not technically complex in one regard but it encompasses several things that are difficult to do- namely perfect curves, parallel lines and the flow.

The piece you're talking about actually cracked (in different spots to before) and the two inner circles fell out. I am disappointed but you win some you loose some. I was pushing the stone to its limit and I failed, the piece wouldnt have been so appealing to me if it was easy to make anyway. I've been staring at it since it cracked and I might glue it and finish it but keep it for myself- I wouldnt sell it unless the person was aware of what had happened and that didnt bother them. Even then the price would be much reduced. At the time it had cracked I had put about 30hours into it and used a fair amount of tools in the process. I would still have potentially another 30 hours to go of refining and polishing. Honestly I would have been looking for around $1500-$2000 for that piece when finished. That is a reasonably token amount for a jade piece of that size and if one considers its artistic qualities- ie flow, form and the unique design then potentially the piece is worth more.

I had intended to do a set of similar shapes and approach a gallery with them. I plan on starting another large circular crossover piece of a different design shortly.

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okay got a lovely piece from teo, comes with a lifetime warranty, necklace is a lovely tied leather!

have been speaking about your art to a few people and posted your website to a friend on facebook,

hope your craft fourishes, will send an email regarding this that and the other!

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Love to see it, post a pic, Teo's prices are too much for me but I can admire his work :)

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Necklace is actually a braided waxed polyester. Unless I did something weird and didnt realise it :scratchhead:

Ive used cotton and leather for necklaces but neither has the durability of quality polyester. The polyester also allows me to do a variety of different braids and lashings. Leather is available you just have to ask :)

I also do ones with silver chain necklaces.

I do produce $100-200 pieces to sell to tourists in the area, they are made to price and whilst still quality pieces they are generally small and I do produce more then one of them.

Ill put some more photos up soon.

Thanks for the interest guys and gals! I would love to help and encourage those wanting to give it a try as well so if people are keen I can do how to/ carve along threads.

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Thanks for the interest guys and gals! I would love to help and encourage those wanting to give it a try as well so if people are keen I can do how to/ carve along threads.

Keen!

I have only done a bit of scrim so far but I am also interested in getting into carving and just need to get myself a good piece of equipment to get started.

Any how to recommendations and how to info and or advice on choosing a machine would be appreciated muchly.

I know a few carvers and so can pick up info and tips from them too, but everyone seems to have their own style, ethos and flair, which is interesting to learn about.

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Yeah, that'd be a great idea, but how much would setup cost do you think??

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Where can i buy jade and tusk and stuff you use where do you get the bones etc..

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Minimum tools for bone, ivory and pearl shell (try bone first):

- Hack saw

- Dremel or Ozito (with flex shaft makes it easier)

- Sanding drums for dremel with variety of grit bands

- Cheap diamond burr kit from ebay

- Needle file kit

- Sandpaper (180, 240, 400, 600, 1200)

- Gas mask, safety glasses and if you want ear phones.

Ask your butcher for some shin bones (I think they sell them as soup bones?) and get him to cut the knobbly ends off. Take them home and boil them till the meat falls off or bury them. For jade, antlers, tusk and pearl shell have a look at ebay. Jade is a little more tricky to buy quality stuff, start with bone first.

For a more advanced tool then a dremel look at foredom micromotors or flex shafts.

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Oh yeah if you buy a dremel its quite cheap to buy them with tools included. This is useful in the longer term. Dremels are pretty useful around the house to.

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