Jane and Bill Inge - Kapiti Artisans

There are a lot of different artists and artisans who will be taking part in the Kapiti Arts Trail and two of them are husband and wife Jane and Bill Inge.

A Landscape and Exterior Space Designer by day Jane has used her design software to create some lovely artwork specific to different local regions, using the suburb names of that region.

Bill is a sculptor inspired by driftwood found locally on the beaches. Combining it with Oamaru Limestone he creates beautiful natural sculptures that will complement any garden or outdoor space. Bill is known in the Kapiti region for his delightful stone sculptures of birds. These are usually placed on a stick so that they can easily be arranged in your garden.

Jane and Bill are opening their home studio to the public during the arts trail and this can be found at 15 Sea Poppy Way. Be sure to go and check out their work.

Kapiti Arts Trail

I am delighted to be participating in this year's Kapiti Arts Trail. This is an annual event held on the Kapiti Coast that showcases the work of all the artists and artisans who live in the region. There is a huge range of artists and artisans who participate covering every imaginable type of art and craft including Fine Art, Jewellery, Sculptures, Ceramics, Photography, Lampwork Beads, Wood Carvings etc. Details of all the participating artists/artisans and the various venues can be found on the Kapiti District Council website.

 I will be exhibiting at the Southward Museum in Otaihanga. This is one of two government "hubs" that will each be featuring a variety of different artists and artisans.

The Arts Trail will be open from 10am to 4pm on both Saturday and Sunday the 15th and 16th November.

With Christmas just a few weeks away this will be the perfect opportunity to do some Christmas shopping for unique, quality gifts that you won't find in the shops.

I look forward to seeing you there!

Friday Favourites

Lilac and Pink Theresa Pendant

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Emotional Oasis

A to Z of Gemstones - Z is for Zoisite

Zoisite is a calcium aluminium hydroxy sorosilicate belonging to the epidote group of minerals. It was named in 1805 after Austrian scientist and naturalist Baron Sigmund Zois von Edelstein who had a notable mineral collection and identified Zoisite as being a unique mineral species.

Zoisite may be blue to violet, green, brown, pink, yellow, gray, or colorless.  Sources of zoisite include Tanzania (tanzanite), Kenya (anyolite), Norway (thulite), Switzerland, Austria, India, Pakistan, and the U.S. state of Washington.

Zoisite is the mineral of some very diverse gem materials including Anyolite or Ruby in Zoisite and Tanzanite, both of which can only be found in Tanzania.

Ruby in Zoisite was discovered at the Longido mining district in northeast Tanzania by Tom Blevins, an English prospector. This is a brilliant green variety of Zoisite associated with medium grade rubies. The red rubies are often distorted and irregularly spread throughout the sea of massive green zoisite. Ruby in Zoisite is also heavily included with black hornblende minerals.

Tanzanite is the most well  known variety of the zoisite mineral group. It was discovered in 1967 by Masai tribesman in the hills of Northern Tanzania. It is a transparent blue zoisite that is colored by the presence of vanadium. Some blue zoisite is found naturally but most is produced by heat-treating brown zoisite. The heat changes the oxidation state of vanadium to produce the blue color. Tanzanite is the second most popular blue stone, after sapphire.

Pictured above is my Ruby in Zoisite Sterling Wired Bangle. Below are some more examples of Ruby in Zoisite and Tanzanite jewellery from some members of the Jewelry on Etsy team.

Ruby in Zoisite Sterling Silver Necklace by The Silver Bear

Ruby in Zoisite Bracelet by Earth Energy Gemstones 

Dainty Tanzanite Ring in Sterling Silver by Moon Wish Jewels 

Tanzanite Bar Necklace by Little Apple NY

New Zealand Made

Box of 8 Scented Soy Melts

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Rose In Thorns

Work in Progress - Bi-coloured Quartz Necklace & Earrings (3)

Well life and my insomnia (leaving me too tired to do anything) seems to keep getting in the way of finishing this piece but at least the front section of the necklace is now complete. I now need to make a chain to hang it from! Hopefully I can make some progress on that this week.

Friday Favourites

Heirloom Quality Rocking Horse

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Marc's Woodworking