I had time to look around the show today.
I was walking along when a man who saw me holding my camera said, "There's a great photo opportunity in here!" So I paid the one dollar entry fee and entered the strange little shrouded booth. Sure enough, some very strange sights.
(Click on photos to enlarge)
When I looked over at this pile of rock (below) I got a feeling of 'deja vu'. This is because it is English Flint and I remember seeing pieces of this on the ground as a child. And here it is being sold in America for about a dollar a pound for flintknapping.
The ship in the background is a jade carving. Each of the carved balls in the foreground are actually three carved balls, one inside the other. The spheres are of rock. The pink 'twigs' are coral.
This is lapis from Pakistan. An incredible rich blue and quite expensive (to me, anyway!)
Here are some rock carvings of Mookaite, Printstone etc.
There are always mountains of beads at these shows. At the Tucson shows there will be giant marquees full of beads. The pink/salmon coloured beads are coral.
This is quartz crystal.
These are slabs and polished blocks of petrified wood.
This booth is all amethyst.
This booth is all turquoise - one of my favourites.
Will find some more photo opportunities soon.
2 comments:
Urgh! Those first few pics reminded me of Victorian freak shows! Well done you for going in there and documenting it all!
Did you know that lapis lazuli was used by old masters painters for the intense blue paint they used? You may remember it from Girl with a Pearl Earring?
Thankyou for reminding me. Doug has just finished reading Girl with the Pearl Earring and loved it. He is busy painting at the moment so I'll get him to see this.
Post a Comment