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Author Topic: Hello from central Oklahoma  (Read 2123 times)

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John Robinson

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Hello from central Oklahoma
« on: August 11, 2017, 10:08:32 AM »

This is my second post, but should have been my first. I am a retired Substace Abuse Counselor who has been a rockhound since 1963. I have always been interested in Lapidary Art and still vividly remember my one visit to Lazardo's Lapidary Museum as well as multiple visits to the Field Museum in Chicago in the mid '60s.
My younger brother cared for an elderly lady while she was dying of cancer and she gave him her house and its contents. Among the stuff was an entire Lapidary workshop once owned by One of her exhusbands from Logsden, OR. My brother gave it to me knowing I liked rocks and stuff.
Anyway in my retirement I finally get the opportunity to become a Lapidary artist!
The equipment is old but works and there is a lot of it I will never use having two or more of everything but a cut off saw (I am hoping my brother will find one eventually)
Anyway there were some parcels of rough opal amongst the slabs and I fear I have become an 'opalholic' (I recognize the symptoms lol). I hope to be able to afford to work with opal, but my actual plan is to work with silver and turquoise. Being here in Oklahoma gives me access to the network of Native American Lapidary artists.
Anyway  [ Invalid Attachment ] I am retired and have time to socialize. I do not know much about lapidary art, but I am an expert in other fields. I spend a lot of time on Facebook as John Wesley Robinson so if one looks me up and thinks I might be an interesting friend just send me a request but let me know you are from this forum as I usually deny requests from complete strangers
Se ya around
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Steve Ramsdell

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Re: Hello from central Oklahoma
« Reply #1 on: August 11, 2017, 11:49:47 AM »

I too grew up in Chicago.  Luckily stayed long enough to find Chicago Park District lapidary classes.  I ended up an instructor for quite a while.  I know what you mean about the opal bug.  Some of the material from long ago is much more rare now.  Try to have someone look it over so you know what you have.  I shouldn't say this but there is an opal society.  This is a great group for getting information.  Nice to hear from a former Chicagoan.
Steve Ramsdell
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hummingbirdstones

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Re: Hello from central Oklahoma
« Reply #2 on: August 11, 2017, 12:50:18 PM »

Welcome to the forum, John, from another ex-Chicagoan, now thankfully from Northern Arizona.   :hello:  My husband and i are also hopeless opal addicts.  If you can take some pictures of the opal rough you have (close-ups in water if you can), we may be able to help you out with what you have or get close to it.

Doesn't take any money to work opal, especially if you have the rough.  Setting it in gold is the expensive part.   :occasion14:
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Robin

John Robinson

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Re: Hello from central Oklahoma
« Reply #3 on: August 11, 2017, 01:16:46 PM »

Well I did not grow up in Chicago, but out in Wheaton, a couple of houses down from the Belushi family (John and Jim were complete assholes) on Elm St. We moved to Jefferson City MO for my high school years but I returned to Chicago for college, spending 4 years there at the University of Chicago. I have been a Cub's fan for over 50 years, but aside from that I did well while in the area.

I have already worked up the opal rough, was not a lot of Color but mostly potch, with one beatiful exception- a hundred Ct. Australian white with a rainbow pattern. Of course, I am not going to risk ruining the stone but am trying to find someone with expertise to cut and polish it or just buy it outright. Russ Madsen of that association that was not mentioned is helping me with the problem. IMO, black opal is much over- rated too muchwork for tiny bits of color, Mexican fire opal is absolutely beautiful but really hard to work with. So far I have done the best with crystal and dark opals but I don't know if that pattern will hold.
Nice to hear from you
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lithicbeads

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Re: Hello from central Oklahoma
« Reply #4 on: August 11, 2017, 01:25:26 PM »

Welcome from the smokey coast .
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palmwood13

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Re: Hello from central Oklahoma
« Reply #5 on: August 11, 2017, 03:27:59 PM »

Welcome to the forum. You can gain a wealth of knowledge from this forum. Enjoy!!!
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John Robinson

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Re: Hello from central Oklahoma
« Reply #6 on: August 11, 2017, 03:33:35 PM »

Thanks!
I am going to try to see if the file reduction software I just installed actually works and send a pix of my best opal rough and then if it does go over to the What Is This board with a whole bunch of pictures lolRenderedContent-16CB40ED-CB7C-41AF-898F-AA403705E5B7.JPG
*RenderedContent-16CB40ED-CB7C-41AF-898F-AA403705E5B7.JPG (212.93 kB . 920x1136 - viewed 211 times)
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lithicbeads

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Re: Hello from central Oklahoma
« Reply #7 on: August 11, 2017, 09:29:42 PM »

 Welcome to the forum. Looking forward to seeing your posts.
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edgarscale

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Re: Hello from central Oklahoma
« Reply #8 on: August 12, 2017, 08:16:58 PM »

welcome from collingwood, ontario
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50% rockhound and 50% wire wrap
       ='s one great pendant

hummingbirdstones

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Re: Hello from central Oklahoma
« Reply #9 on: August 12, 2017, 08:38:25 PM »

I was outside the city, too.  Near west 'burbs.  The best size for posting pictures is 600 x 800, in my opinion.  Big enough to actually see the picture, but small enough so it doesn't create a scroll bar on the screen.

Opal cutting is definitely a challenge.  Getting the best stone out of a mediocre piece of potch and color is a great feeling of accomplishment.  The excitement of uncovering a killer opal in a piece of Ridge black is something I never get tired of.  It does take a lot of work, practice and patience, but I think it's worth the trouble.   :icon_sunny:
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Robin

Phishisgroovin

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Re: Hello from central Oklahoma
« Reply #10 on: August 13, 2017, 08:32:41 AM »

Welcome to Lapidaryforum.net!!

July-25, i enjoyed 17 beautiful years of Sobriety.
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John Robinson

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Re: Hello from central Oklahoma
« Reply #11 on: August 14, 2017, 08:51:46 AM »

Congrats on your sobriety! You are a success living amongst failures.
I was wondering if the forum has ever had a Collaboration board? I am a big fan of teamwork and getting started I do not know if I can acquire all of the skills I need to be a really good Lapidary artist, but I might be able to do one or two things really well. I would like to work with some experienced folks to build some jewelry or rock art. I was wondering how many different jobs have to done from start to finish and it seemed like there were at least a dozen skills involved(?)
Of course, I am doing this as a (slightly profitable?) hobby so my goals may be diierebt than many members of the forum.

My real job in retirement is to organize the 5000 pages I have written about recovery into a book that could be the foundation for the Aa of the 21st Century. IMO, scientist make really bad counselors and the current trend to replace counselors who have lived through addiction with nerds who just read a bunch of books about addiction is a really stupid idea. However, the Feds are funding the scientists who have eliminated the Higher Power from their 'recovery' program and so have sacrificed millions of addicts to the false god of Science or so I believe. The AA was founded upon the works of three of the best psychologists of the early 20th Century (William James, Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung - this crap about the AA as just a religious cult is unfounded in truth...
lol - I will save the rest for the book
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womanwithatorch

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Re: Hello from central Oklahoma
« Reply #12 on: August 14, 2017, 09:00:06 AM »

Hello from NE Oklahoma, formerly from central OK. If you haven't yet, check out the Okla Mineral Gem and Mineral Society (OMGS), you may find some good people there.
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"I am always doing that which I cannot do, in order that I might learn how to do it." Pablo Picasso

John Robinson

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Re: Hello from central Oklahoma
« Reply #13 on: August 14, 2017, 09:37:55 AM »

Oh! Good Grief!
I thought I was sending a PM not posting on an open topic 🙄
Anyway thanks for the info. This group meets in Ada? I have have gotten some nice specimens of flint Petrie wood and pyritized fossils from the exposed beds of Woodford shale there in the Arbuckles and think I once saw a display from that group in the Library in Ada when I attended ECU
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womanwithatorch

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Re: Hello from central Oklahoma
« Reply #14 on: August 14, 2017, 12:12:10 PM »

OMGS meets in OKC  http://omgs-minerals.org/

There's another club that meets in Ada- http://www.freewebs.com/agmfc/

Good luck!
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"I am always doing that which I cannot do, in order that I might learn how to do it." Pablo Picasso
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