Alluring smoky quartz (also known as smoky topaz*), named for its smoky color, is formed when rock crystal is naturally irradiated. (Its frequent inclusions of rutile needles, by the way, do not affect its quality.) Smoky quartz ranges in color from light grayish-brown to deep black. It is most typically transparent to translucent but can…

Quartz includes a large group of minerals based on silicon dioxide. Rose quartz is a macrocrystalline form, as are amethyst, aventurine and citrine. It is a milky pink color, often crackled, and found mainly in large clumps. Only rarely is it found in single crystal form. It is believed that the pink color is due…

I like to split Selenite into wands of different lengths. It often splinters and can be quite sharp during handling but it looks nice on rattles when I am trying to gain depth and perception. It is not compatible with tumbling and can be tricky to cut, so splitting is my preferred method to get…

Amethyst is a purple variety of quartz and owes its violet color to irradiation, impurities of iron and in some cases other transition metals, and the presence of other trace elements, which result in complex crystal lattice substitutions. The hardness of the mineral is the same as quartz, so it suitable for use in rattles. I often cut it…

Charoite is one of my very favorite gemstones, and I use it accent pieces in various ways. Large pieces wet saw well into small pieces that can be micro-beveled and shaped with great care. Charoite does not tumble well but I carefully shatter it into rugged striations and use them to accent antlers and rattles…

Rattles have captured my imagination for years, and this interest culminated in extensive research after I inherited a Bear Rattle from a highly respected Shaman of the Huichol and Inka tradition. I began studying societies and their traditions worldwide, and I was consistently drawn to anthropology: behavioral patterns, cultures, archaeology, and ethnography. The more I…

Fish… The fish leather that I make is made from Wild Alaskan Sockeye Salmon. The fish is skinned- skin is often removed from fish during processing and disposed of as waste -though many people leave the skin on and value it for nutritional purposes. I then use a traditional tanning method to cure the skin…