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INDEX
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The Eclectic Lapidary Is One Year Old!
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It's been an amazing trek, and in looking at the combined talent, knowledge and experience of our contributors, I am astounded. A sincere thank you to everyone! Here are some vignettes of the people who were responsible for Volume I.
We've watched Cate Harrison become The Low Budget Lapidary. She taught us how to build a workshop with a tumbler and two cabbing machines, then built a faceting machine from Jon Rolfe's design and plans in
close consultation with him. Not content with those accomplishments, Cate has been teaching herself to facet, and has started a personalized gem rough business, Aragon Gems, trying to find just the right stone
for every customer's need.
Jan Noble is not a lapidary herself, but loves rocks and gems. We know her best as a writer who is an outdoorswoman. She has shared her vast knowledge of camping and family life to make rockhounding a
family adventure that doesn't end in wanting to leave the kids and take home just the rocks. A truly eclectic person, she has told us about simple home remedies, shared recipes, and given us an overview of how to make a camping experience comfortable and
fun. Even when moving from both ends of the country to the middle at the same time, she didn't miss an issue. (That's a puzzle you have to ask her about!) This Steel Magnolia is preparing to welcome a new grandbaby early next year, and that should open
up all kinds of new topics she can share with us.
Justice Malanot is someone we wouldn't have known without the internet. He has taken us on adventures and expeditions across Africa as he's traveled in search of gemstones. We have learned about places and cultures
many of us never knew before. Somewhat fact, somewhat fiction, his tales continue in The Eclectic Lapidary and his faceted gemstones from the heart of Africa are shown at. His direct email is Malanot@innocent.com
Barbara McCondra has taken us into the Australian opal mines. She has shared her passion for opal and explained its intricacies and shown its beauty to us. She's brought us the lore and fact, dazzle and
grittiness of opal mining. She spends part of the year mining and guiding opal tours in Australia, and part of the year in the USA at shows and speaking engagements.
Hans Durstling is an eclectic professional writer too. He is a rockhound and lapidary. His articles for The Eclectic Lapidary have ranged from turning wood salad bowls into polishing tools to creating finished
opal triplets without using any machines. He's given us a fascinating look at the life of a man who "invented" kerosene, and he's taken us to a Polish market in Germany selling Russian diamond grit. His writing talents have been recognized by cable TV in
Canada, and two scripts will be produced on the History Channel there.
John Doppler is the computer wizard behind the Eclectic Lapidary. He suggested the concept, he designed it and has been responsible for the development of all its features. Many, many thanks for your time and support. Doppler is the force behind The Geckoplex, an interactive game site which hosted The Eclectic Lapidary until it moved to the bovagems.com domain. He is also head of DopplerFx.com, a web design
and hosting business.
Vincent King took an old book and re-discovered the art of creating inclusions in agate. He honored the original discoverer by naming his creation Fischerstone. Vince shared the step-by-step
process of development with us, and how he went a step further to create designer inclusions in agate. A cutter himself, Vince has also been working on web design and has developed a gem rough site for his company, VyKing International Cyberstones.
Tim Jokela, Jr. taught us mineral jargon and about the Tourmaline family. His contributions were a major start on an Eclectic Lapidary lexicon. Tim is a mineral collector of great knowledge and strong opinions.
He has been a prolific contributor of information through the rockhounds mailing list and has been an invaluable resource for journal references on specific minerals. Tim is an expert in Canadian collecting, and has traveled extensively.
John Veevaert is a mineral collector, originator of the online mineral auction, and a source of advice and information on mineral collecting in California. A specialist in the rare and wonderful benitoite
and fresnoite, his knowledge extends across the entire state of California. He frequently posts to the Rockhounds mailing list and has been a strong supporter of the Eclectic Lapidary. John's site for his business, Trinity Mineral Company, is always a
delight to visit. His mineral photography is outstanding!
Richard Friesen is a man who loves the lapidary arts. He writes, "I have been cutting cabs both as a hobby and as a commercial cutter for about 25 years. I teach lapidary for our local Gem and Mineral club and
for our local recreation department. I also do lost wax casting to keep my sanity when all else fails. I am retired from Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory where I ran one of their larger Physics ADP systems and did network design." He developed his
own textbook, and permitted us to publish it in The Eclectic Lapidary.
Jon Rolfe not only offered encouragement in the startup of the Eclectic Lapidary, he graciously shared his faceting machine design with the world, and advised Cate Harrison in constructing her faceting machine.
Traveling extensively in a new job, he participates very actively on the Faceters Digest sharing his knowledge and experience.
Mark Liccini, one of the "godfathers" of The Eclectic Lapidary shares his time between Brazil and the USA. He has provided The Eclectic Lapidary with photos, and information. In his business, he not only offers
Brazilian lapidary and mineral specimens, he does extensive work in gemstone enhancements, and the development of new variations. He is an active participant in newsgroups and mailing lists, and gives sound advice and invaluable information to anyone who
asks for it, and has a most informative website at http://www.liccini.com.
Scott Kleine has taken us underground to collect minerals from the famous Elmwood Mine in Tennessee. His 180 pound fluorite specimen photo was an eye-popper. His description of the three
days in Elmwood let us walk through the experience with him. Scott is an expert in Nevada minerals and is an active and avid collector specializing in Carlin Trend materials. He displays and sells mineral specimens through his site for Great Basin
Minerals and at shows.
Dave Jones creates award-winning jewelry in gold and silver. He works in opal, diamonds and other stone too. He has shared some of these with the Eclectic's readers and is currently showing some of his designs at
the Bova Gallery in Los Angeles [Ed. Note: A good gallery, but not a relative of the Editor!] and on the internet.
Betty Sheffler has been a rockhound and owner of a geode field that was open to collectors for many years.
We were privileged to share the announcement of a very special event honoring her in her hometown of Keokuk, Iowa and share the story of a very special lady. Elizabeth (Betty) or Boo Commean is one of the co-chairs who helped make the Betty Sheffler
weekend such a success. She brought the event to our attention, and has been an unflagging supporter of the Eclectic Lapidary. This is a lady who needs three names to cover all her activities! She has been working on compiling information on karst
formations and assembling a fee-for-digging site list.
Special Thanks (in random order) to:
- CJ Lanese of GBA-Trading
- Bill Ritter, formerly of Contempo Lapidary, now with Diamond Pacific
- Ron Vil of Outback Gems
- John Alcorn
- George Walters
- Kemp LaMunyon
- Leeann Ware
- Diane Karg
- David Burton of Lapidary International
- Len Cram
- Peter Brusachi of the Opal Mine
- Ross of Cranestone
- Walt Bowser of Geological Artifacts Mineral Search Safaris
- Dr. William S. Cordua
- Dixie Reale of The Kounting House
- Charles Covill
- Hale Sweeney of The Lapidary Digest
- Jerry Dewbre of the Faceters Digest
- Robert K. Smith
- Mike Shell
- Patrick Harvey
- Wm. Augustus Mason of Mystical Grits
- Dirk Schmid
- Mel Albright
- The BLM and Ft. Irwin
- All The Readers of The Eclectic Lapidary!
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Copyright, 1997 by Carol J. Bova
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