This gallery is dedicated to photos of:

Sphere 11-30-13-#1

I love making Spheres!

They allow me to explore a myriad of color and design possibilities and I never know how they'll turn out until the final shape is achieved. Even at that point, I cannot see how lovely the color schemes will be until the final polishing stages. These pieces (which are really like all my work) develop and grow through the design, carving, sanding, and polishing processes. I have the exquisite pleasure of observing them through magnified lenses as they mature and finally come to fruition.

This sphere is one of my basic shapes. Ten slabs of agatized dinosaur bone of varying thicknesses have been laminated together into a large cube. Only the finest quality bone is used in my work. That being said, each and every piece of bone is different, no two pieces of bone are the same color. Therefore, "finest quality" covers a spectrum of color and structure. Of all the agatized bone that is available on the commercial market, only a few percent meet my rigorous requirements for "finest quality". Fractures and "dead" spots are not included in my work (Note: Some of the reflections look like fractures).

From the cube shape I trim the edges until I have an 18 sided shape. I  then hand-craft the shaping of the sphere rather than using a sphere machine. This allows me to control undercutting, pitting, and chipping. I carefully shape the sphere until I reach a point where I can no longer tell if I’m improving it or not. Perhaps I should call them "Ovoids"!

The final shape is finished with an exceptional polish. This is a gorgeous piece of work which can never be exactly reproduced!

The sphere is 2.15” in diameter and weighs 7.9 ounces. It comes with a velvet case and brass stand.