… the photos may not be perfect because I took them with my phone, but they do give a pretty good idea of how beautiful the newest pendant came out. I carved a piece of black nephrite jade and cut the opal from an incredible 18 carat piece of rough I had … the finished gemstone weighs 4.25 ct. The stone is an intense solid color bar! Black jade is not really black but is an incredibly saturated green … so much so that it appears to be black … the sludge that comes off as you grind it is a swampy dark green. The opal was part of a collection that we bought more than forty years ago. This was a commission piece, and it is on the way via FedEx to its new home.
Next is to make good on my promises to family … I’m tired of using Amazon gift cards for presents, so promised them that jewelry pieces were in their future too … luckily, I have two girls and three granddaughter who all love jewelry. This is a fun kickoff to the new year and the gifts will last longer than whatever you can purchase with a giftcard!
I got the photo of the sparrows below on my walk a couple of nights ago … the sun had sunk below House Mountain (our resident 13-million-year-old shield volcano) and darkness was sweeping over the valley … they seemed to be taking in the last bit of light before sheltering for the night that was settling in … then the hope of yet another day … for them and for us too.
Into the weekend … have a beautiful one … smile … keep breathing … choose kindness!
Ted
The world we’ve seen but from afar lies now
Outstretched before you, and will yield its gifts
If nobly you will always live, and we—
Ah! we shall watch and wait with hungry hearts
To see you climb the towers of success.
‘Twill give us happiness to speak your name
And say again the things that bring to mind
Your long past childish ways. Now still once
more
I’ll say what oft I said through all these years,
While yet we talk and linger late at parting,
And this say o’er each day as my last words,
Success will come by love and truth and work.
excerpt from Breaking Home Ties by Max Ehrmann
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The easiest way to reach Mr. Grussing is by email: ted@tedgrussing.com
In addition to sales of photographs already taken Ted does special shoots for patrons on request and also does air-to-air photography for those who want photographs of their airplanes in flight. All special photographic sessions are billed on an hourly basis.
Ted also does one-on-one workshops for those interested in learning the techniques he uses. By special arrangement Ted will do one-on-one aerial photography workshops which will include actual photo sessions in the air.
More about Ted Grussing …
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1 Comment
Great write-up still smiling at it.