Original 3 Row Bracelet

This is by far one of my favorite pieces by Ron. It was one of the first pieces I owned. Mine is sugilite which is beautiful but they are all gorgeous.

Original 3 Row Bracelet

Lapis Lazuli

Here is a beautiful example of Lapis Lazuli. It can be found at http://tribeazure.com/showitem.asp?ID=20&MainGroup=Jewelry. Lapis stone has nice highlights. Dark Blue in color. It is found in Afghanistan and Argentina.

Russian Mineral ~ Charoite

There is something so elegant about Charoite to me. It is one of my favorite stones besides Fire Agate. It is a rare mineral, named for the Chara River (though this etymology is disputed by some), and found only in the Sakha Republic, Siberia, Russia. It is supposedly unattractive in its raw state but I find that hard to believe. I did dig up a few pics to gander at. I'll post them later.
Here is one of Ron's Charoite pendants, http://www.tribeazure.com/showitem.asp?ID=26&MainGroup=Jewelry.

Waterfall

Sterling Silver pendant with brilliant inlay consisting of Turquoise, Lapis, Sugilite, Coral and Opal. It is accented with 14K Gold. Approximately 1-1/2"x1-1/2"
http://www.tribeazure.com/showitem.asp?ID=324&MainGroup=Jewelry

Wrapped AGAIN in Fire Agate

I think it is very important I let you, the customer and the future customer about Ron Henry's work. I enjoy doing this through my experiences as well as those of others. We' ve had 100's of customers in the last 9 years. Most have adored Ron's work. There are many reasons why. Mostly because he is an outstanding artist. Some appreciate him because he will work with them on any design as long as it doesn't bring down the integrity of his work. Some of these ways have been when someone wanted him to work with man-made stones or copy someone else's work. I never really understand the latter. I wonder why they don't just buy the piece from whomever they see it. Oh well, I digressed. This is just a little sidebar I wanted you to know. The real story is this....

You've read about my Dad and his Fire Agate ring that means so much to me. Fire Agate is mined in Mexico and the US, one state which is AZ. It is one of the most colorful and rich looking stones I've ever seen. I dare any other stone to stand against it.
When I met Ron I told him about my Dad and how close we were. I showed him different pieces of jewelry he wore. Some pieces were for going out, some for day to day. They were all special to me. One day when Ron and I were going to do some little errand thing he pulls out another kleenex wrapped around something small. You know from my previous blog (shame on you if you didn't read it...hehe) he wraps all his work in kleenex. It wasn't my birthday or any special day so I was curious what he had. I unwrapped a sterling siver pendant. In the center of this beauty was a Fire Agate. A beautiful one Ron Henry had picked personally for me. See, he didn't work with the stone at that time. He was a turquoise, lapis, sugilite, coral, jet, opal man. He worked with other stones but those were his favorites. I think that came from his background. He grew up on the Navajo reservation in Coyote Canyon, NM. His mom, Lou was a rug weaver but she made some jewelry. Mostly she wore it. Those were her favorites. They each meant something to her (that's for another blog).

This is the piece Ron surprised me with, http://www.tribeazure.com/showitem.asp?ID=17&MainGroup=Jewelry. It means very much to me. He has only sold 2 others similar to it. He won't reproduce his work exactly as it is seen on the website unless it is a piece that allows no change.
I hope this gives you one more little piece on insight to the artist of silver and gold.

til then....Nicci

http://www.tribeazure.com/

Wrapped in Fire Agate

My Dad was a man of simple taste yet boastful. He liked what he liked and one thing he liked was jewelry. His love was Silver and Fire Agate. Sometimes I think he picked certain pieces because they were the flashiest or the largest. He was certainly the center of attention when he wanted to be. That was quite often. When he did something he did it big or he didn't bother. My Dad was such a card. He could make you laugh at a funeral on Christmas morning.

Anyway, he had the most gorgeous bracelet with 5 stunning, fiery fire agates. When he died, I
could not wear it. It was a massive piece. It was wide (which I love but it was large, too large) so
Ron took the 5 stones out for me and put them in a safe place for the day I decide how I want
them set.

One piece of jewelry he did leave behind when he passed on to a better place was a Fire Agate
ring. It isn't particularly well crafted but the stone is just gorgeous. He wore that ring often even
though he had rather unattractive hands. When he was a kid, I think the age of 11 (younger than my son), he was working at the cotton gin with his Dad. His Dad was what I would call an ass. At
least at that time in his life he was. Anyway, my Dad cut a huge chunk out of his thumb with some piece of machinery. His Dad told him to suck it up and keep working. I guess times were different then but again, what an ass. One of the other workers saw my Dad bleeding all over and figued he best get him to the hospital. From that accident he had a skin graph on the thumb. They didn't have a plastic surgeon so of course it stuck out like a sore thumb (I'm sorry. I couldn't resist that one). But back to the ring, the colors go so deep they seem endless. He died on September 7,

1987. I have missed him every day since. This ring I could wear after Ron resized it. Until I decided to write this I had sort of forgotten the ring. It's not that I didn't want to wear it. It's a bit too large for day to day. I seem to get lazy about my jewelry. Daily life can be hectic so sometimes I might

not put ANY on. Stay tuned for what was in that puff of kleenex in my next blog...til then...

Oh, So You're Not a Beader?

It was a warm night on September 12, 1995. I was hanging out with one of my friends at this rock club I NEVER went to. For some reason on that night I was drawn there. At midnight I knew why. In walks this exotic looking, tall guy standing at least 6 feet tall. He had long wavy dark hair. It was love at first sight.

I started talking to this handsome guy and asked him what he did for a living. He said he made jewelry. I'm not sure how many of you know him but he doesn't "make jewelry". He creates art. Anyway I visualized some kind of simple beading they do down on 4th Avenue during the Street Fair. Now I'm not knocking beading because I have a friend, Dini that makes the most incredible bead art I've ever seen (check it here, http://www.beadazzledoforegon.com//).

Since we met two weeks before my birthday, Ron and I decided to go to this local club we both liked for some music and celebration (Back then I could really get my party on..lol). Anyway we got there and Ron pulls out this kleenex wrapped around something small. If you know Ron, you know he always wraps jewelry in kleenex (soft and no scratching). I couldn't believe it when I unwrapped the kleenex only to find the most beautiful piece of jewelry I had ever owned. Part of what made it so beautiful was the fact he made it for me but the other was it was shiny, colorful with the Turquoise, Sugilite and Coral and of course it was stunning.

I have worn this piece almost everyday for the last 14 years. I'll never part with it.

You'll see in the photos its a little dull. That's because I rarely take it off for a good polish.

http://www.tribeazure.com/specialItemlist.asp?Type=Custom+Jewelry&MainGroup=Jewelry