Green Antiques, Art and Utilitarian Items

No, we're not talking about old things being allowed to molder in a  barn.  Rather, we're talking about the idea of taking an environmental approach to purchasing art and even functional items.  Goinggreenhints.com found this definition of 'going green':  "A phrase referring to individual action that a person can consciously take to to curb harmful effects on the environment through consumer habits, behavior and lifestyle". 

Fundamental to our concept here at Crystal Moon Gallery, was the idea that people can get greater enjoyment out of a smaller number of very high-quality items, vs. a large number of cheap items.  Further, that there are a large number of very skilled artists and artisans in North Texas producing very fine, original, work that surpasses factory-made items in both quality, workmanship, and yes even environmental stewardship.

Paintings vs. Prints:  High-quality prints are available with a design-life of many decades.  However, most commonly available prints are applied to wood-pulp-based papers, with a life expectancy of just years.  After all, the objective of mass-produced prints is to keep costs low.  Oil-paint on canvas can be expected to last centuries.  And, archival grade papers used by most water-colorists can also be expected to last for well over one-hundred years.  Further, original art is usually viewed as an heirloom which is passed between generations...saving many trees over periodic replacement of prints.

Trees lost to storms typically find their way to a landfill, or are shredded into mulch.  This is because most wood mills have no cost-efficient procedure for using downed-trees.  However, local artists are able to salvage wood from these lost trees, producing bowls, pens, and many other useful items.  Thus, each tree salvaged by an artist saves waste, as well as a living tree that might be cut for lumber.

Green (the spending kind): By far the greatest bang-for-your-buck will come from buying from local artists.  The reason for this is two-fold:

• Most artists cannot afford waste.  They will salvage, reuse, recycle or otherwise utilize every gram of silver, block of wood, drop of paint/glaze or fragment of a gemstone.
• Most artists are only trying to feed one person off their talents.  And, although economies of scale are a very real phenomenon, and definitely benefit the factory, each level of the distribution chain requires a markup in price.  The result being that retail jewelry stores (for example) charge prices (for mass-produced items) 5 times (or more) the price collected by the original factory.

Antique Furniture represents trees that were cut generations ago.  Arguably, the ultimate form of reuse, decades-old furniture has proven its sturdiness, and ability to survive use.  By contrast, most modern furniture is a wood-fiber product that is heavy, short-lived, and produces other waste products.

Please join us in supporting local artists...and the environment.

Of Drawers and Dovetails

Like the wheel, the dovetail joint owes its existence to some very ancient genius whose name has been lost to history.  The dovetail is a remarkably effective form of joinery used on ancient Egyptian coffins, chests and boxes.  Since that time, it has been used on log-cabins, musical instruments, machinery, furniture of many kinds, and especially on drawers.

The major draw-back to the dovetail has always been the complexity of the joint.  That is, it is relatively time-consuming to create...especially before the invention of dove-tailing machinery.  It has always been much faster/easier to drive a nail or other fastener (and doesn't require a tremendous amount of technical skill).  Therefore the dovetail was very much a mark of high-end workmanship for the greatest part of its history.  Even now, with availability of fully-automated machines, lower-end manufacturers frequently chose alternate joining techniques.

The earliest dovetails were of the "through" variety.  That is, the boards to be joined were cut-through with a saw, leaving the joint fully visible on both sides.  Very soon, people began experimenting with ways to cover the joint.  The ancient Egyptians used veneer to great effect, both to cover joints, and to make common woods look more attractive.  More commonly, a "false front" is used to cover the joint...especially when used on drawers.  Today, one is most likely to find through-dovetails on carpenter-made boxes and chests from the 19th century.

The photo at the top of this text if of the half-blind variety.  That is, half the joint is visible (one side only), while the other half of the joint is hidden (i.e. the front).   The half-blind variety of dovetail requires that pockets to accept the tails be chiseled out of the wood.  They are substantially more labor-intensive than a through-dovetail, and much more attractive.

A variety of half-blind dovetail popular in the 19th century (especially in England), frequently called the "arrowhead dovetail", is shown above.  This style uses very acute angles, and may have as few as one pin.  As shown in the photo, the fit and finish tend to be very fine on quality furniture.  That is, better furniture, appropriately preserved, won't show gaps and looseness in the joint. 

Because hand-cut dovetails (especially half-blind) were so labor-intensive, there was much experimenting with machinery to cut dovetails.  The photo above shows a machine-cut dovetail, frequently called an "English" dovetail.  There are a large number of pins and tails, of equal size and angles.  Alternate names are "pin and cove" or "post and cove".  This style of joinery is a very useful tool for recognizing furniture made after 1900.  However, the exact date of this innovation is uncertain.

The "sliding" dovetail is also very old.  Proponents like this dovetail style because glue is not essential, and the joint can flex with wood as it naturally expands and contracts.  The sliding dovetail also works well with  the various wood-particle and wood-fiber products.  This has not enhanced the sliding dovetail's reputation as a mark of quality, but has made it more common in homes.

Megalodon Teeth

The giant shark known collectively as Megalodon seems to capture the imagination more than almost any other sea-creature.  The enormous teeth they left behind trigger something in the human imagination.  This leads to any number of assumptions, misunderstandings, preconceptions, and just plain misinformation.  Since we offer these fossils in our store, I thought it appropriate to try to BRIEFLY provide some information, and point the reader to other sources of more detailed information.

1. The Megalodon were VERY LARGE sharks.  This may be intuitively obvious to many.  But, in our store, we routinely hear people assuming that teeth this large must come from dinosaurs.  Much disagreement exists over just how big.  But, it seems safe to conclude they were at least twice as long as the Great White Shark. 
2. Sharks produce many hundreds of teeth in their lifetime.  Therefore, shark teeth are a relatively common fossil.  HOWEVER, other shark fossils, such as bones, are quite rare (due to the cartilaginous skeleton).
3. The lack of articulated fossils (bones preserved in anatomically correct position) requires a very different approach to Paleontology...resulting in multiple opinions on Meg lineage.
4. Much physical evidence DOES exist indicating that Megs fed upon early whales.
5. Physical evidence does NOT exist indicating that Megs are still swimming somewhere.
6. Meg teeth are commonly measured on-the-diagonal.  That is from point to each corner of the root.
7. Size is a major determinate of price.  Each full inch of slant-length marks a significant price-point.  Under 2-inches is considered a pretty common size, with prices increasing significantly at 3, 4 and 5 inches.  Almost any tooth over 6 inches will draw a pretty impressive number of dollars.
8. Condition is the second driver of price.  The best teeth will have a complete tip, little/no chipping, sharp serrations, and complete bourrelet.  A small tooth in extraordinary condition may sell for much more than a larger tooth in average condition.
9. The bulk of Meg teeth are recovered by divers working in pretty scary environments...low visibility, sharks, alligators, etc.

For beginning or intermediate fossil-collectors, a really good article may be found at FossilGuy.com. Also, a more detailed (and more technical) discussion of the various arguments for Meg lineage may be found here.  Regardless of the 'final' decisions on Meg lineage, feeding habits, etc, these teeth remain among the largest, and most impressive, of those readily available to collectors.

Texas Plume Agate

Plume Agate occurs in several locales, most notably in Texas and Oregon.  Brewster Co, Texas produces a significant quantity of Plume Agate.  Plume agate gets its name from the feather-like inclusions frequently found within the Agate (Cryptocrystalline Silicon Dioxide).  In general, the Agate occurs in igneous rock, though not all  igneous rock produces Agates.

One prevailing theory is that the the plume-like inclusions in Texas Agates result from metallic compounds infiltrating the Agate while will it is still in a gel state (think Jell-o).  Differing colors result in different color plumes, including Black, Red, Yellow and White.  For some reason, it seems that red plumes typically occur together with black plumes.  That is to say that a stone with only black plumes is not too unusual, but a stone with only red plumes seems to be especially rare.

Very fine Plume Agates will have very distinct 'plumes' in a contrasting color Agate.  More commonly (at least in Brewster Co. Agates), the plumes tend to be quite dense.  And, a popular approach to working Texas Plume Agates is to slice them quite thin (as thin as one mm) to allow the plume to be seen distinctly.  A clear quartz top is then added, and the entire assembly polished en-cabochon.  Displays of thin-sliced and back-lit Texas Plume Agates are sometimes shown at Gem and Mineral Shows, and can provide a breath-taking view of their wondrous beauty.

Artist Intro - LaNelle Tadlock

Lanelle Tadlock is a jewelry artist, working in Silver fabrication and wire-wrapping.  She offers her work at shows across Texas, and of course, at Crystal Moon Gallery.

How did you get started in your art?

I've been doing creative things my whole life.  My dad taught geology and lapidary arts (gemstone cutting) at a local college when I was a kid.  I did bead work when I was in high school (too many years ago), and I've always loved fiber arts.  When my daughter was young, I did some heirloom sewing, which uses the same construction techniques as antique and couture garments.  Then in 2002, I learned about wire jewelry; it has a lot in common with lace-making and embroidery, particularly the coiled and basket-woven styles.  I was hooked.

What is your favorite medium/technique?

I hate to say it because it's such a cliche, but it's usually whatever is on the bench right now.  In the last couple of years I've added a lot of hammer texture to things, even wire pieces, and this summer I'm taking a class at our local club in chasing and repousse--using a hammer and punches to make a raised design in the metal.  I don't always know how I'm going to incorporate something new into designs when I start learning, but once I get my hands a bit dirty the ideas come flying.

What has been your most satisfying moment as an artist?

That's a tough one.  I think I would have to say it was last summer, when I finally got around to teaching a class in prong-setting stones with wire.  Seeing the students leave with a piece of jewelry they could wear or give as a gift and a technique they could incorporate in their own work made me feel like I had really accomplished something.

What has been the most challenging skill to master?

I think it was probably basket weaving with wire.  I worked on the technique for a couple of years off and on before I got clean, even weaves.  Even now I never go straight to silver or gold when I make a woven piece.  I make at least one practice piece in copper or brass first.  That way I can plan out the piece and work through any problem areas.

How much time and materials are required to complete an "average" piece?

That's a tough one to answer because I got really frustrated with the kitchen timer early on.  When I make fabricated pieces (the ones where I solder with a torch) I work on them in groups, so if I have a piece that needs to sit in a chemical bath I'm still working.  For the wire pieces, small things like earrings might take from 15 minutes to a couple of hours for prong set stones that I need to be extra careful with.  The basket-woven collar I did for the State Fair of Texas a couple of years ago took a week of solid weaving time.  I started from the center and wove each side as one continuous piece to keep it even and smooth.