As a little fourth grade girl, I received my first rock tumbler from Santa. I was so ecstatic I asked my parents if I could have the rocks tumble all night in my bedroom, not realizing how noisy it would be. I'm not sure if it was because it was too loud or I was extremely excited, but that night I wasn’t able to sleep. The tumbler moved from my bedroom to the closet, and finally, the garage. Always watching it, I became fascinated by how this machine turned a simple rock into a masterpiece with detail and shine, but only if I was patient. My rock tumbler took three whole months to turn any old rock into a beauty. This is where my passion for rock collecting started.
After starting my collection, my mom knew a friend who could identify stones. When he agreed to take a look at my collection, I grew eager to finally find out what they were worth. I just knew they were as good as gold and he and my mom would be so impressed. To my disappointment, I was told I had many different types of agate. I then realized there is a lot of agate in this world and my collection was still unique, so I took advantage of the school science fair to show it off.
Many years later, and after 34 years of marriage, I still collect rocks. My husband cuts them down and we polish them together. Luckily, rock tumblers have come a long way and only take 3 weeks to smooth and shine. After all this time, I still feel like a little girl, picking out stones and wondering how they will come out.
Now my husband and I choose most of my stones at the rock show in Quartzite, AZ. This is also where I learned the craft of wire sculpture. I took lessons from an inspiring, local artist, Beammer. It took a lot of practice, but I'm finally able to combine my craft with the natural gift from god, stones.
Making piece after piece, I realized I had a lot of jewelry with no one to enjoy it. My daughter Heather decided to throw my first jewelry party to which she invited her friends. It was a big hit. Not only did I sell a lot of jewelry, but they loved it and wanted to have parties of their own. I am excited to now sell my jewelry here to you.
. My niece Nicole just finished her graduate studies in Human Rights and Humanitarian Assistance at NYU. Throughout her travels to South Africa last summer, she and a group of friends identified a number of women and children who would benefit from their assistance in community empowerment. When they met with a township outside of Pretoria, the women expressed concern about not having light, facing the risk of rape, or hurting themselves when venturing out after dark. In response, their first project was “Lights on South Africa,” for which they raised funds to supply sustainable, solar lanterns to 140 people of the township.
Just this past August your purchases helped her to provide English learning materials and school supplies to children at a primary school in the Nyanga township outside of Cape Town, South Africa.
Now, she is currently raising funds for the community of Wassa Adansi, located in Ghana’s western region. Alleged illegal gold mining in the area has led to the contamination of the village’s only fresh water source – the river that runs along its perimeter. There is no way to purify the water. When a government-sponsored borehole project fell through, the community mobilized, addressing the local district assembly and working with a local non-governmental organization to hopefully reinstate the project. Unfortunately, their attempts failed. With little expendable income, funding the project is out of their reach. With your purchase, we can help raise the funds needed to construct the borehole water system, and train the community to ensure its proper use and upkeep.
Currently, 10% of all proceeds of my jewelry sales will go towards Water for Wassa. To find out more information about her project, click on the link below:
http://w4wghana.blogspot.com/
Thank you for supporting this community, Nicole, and myself in our passions.
