My new hobby is bringing me a lot of joy. Every Thursday night, I drive 35 minutes to a lapidary club where I am learning to shape and polish rocks. I am a newbie; I don’t really know what I am doing yet, but I am enjoying the process, even if it does cement my identity as a nerd!
I don’t know how to identify and name rocks yet, but I know that the second piece, the one I am finishing off right now, is actually pertified wood. I used one rotating saw to trim off the excess on my little slab, and then went to to first of the grinders to beging shaping. Hmm. I’ve just realised that I don’t actually know what any of the machines are called; must do something about that.
Apparently, I shaped the top surface of my cabachon pretty well, but my instructor pointed out a little dead spot in the lower quadrant of my oval-shaped stone. As I moved through the next grinder and the next, refining the shape and ensuring the surface was even, the little dead spot became more and more evident.
“It probably won’t polish up on that spot,” my instructor advised. “If that happens, I’ll just swap out a new piece for you.”
“It’s okay,” I replied. “Just because something’s not perfect doesn’t mean we need to throw it out. I can pop a little diamonte there or make something decorative of the spot. I’ll keep going with this one.”
After the shaping grinders, I moved on to the first of the polishers. The spot was still there. Would it take the polish?
One by one, I moved through the belt polishers, increasing the grade each time. At each station, I rubbed my finger over the surface, feeling for differences in the touch. I held it up to the light, rocking it back under the flourescent strip, looking for places needing attention. I would wipe the wet stone on the cloth hanging from my apron, and then gently blow on it, watching the last of the moisture disappear into the air to find spots that begged for a little more attention.
The 50,000 station was the last one, the one that releases the final dazzle from the stone and lets what has been hiding inside out. I needn’t have worried. The stone, with its little dead spot, polished up just fine; shiny and beautiful. No diamontes needed.
I guess all of me can be beautiful too.
Sweet and Sour 
I love this slice! You will be going to rock shows and buying rock manuals before you know it, I predict. When my daughter and her boyfriend moved from the rural southeast to Nevada, they began rock hounding in the Mojave Desert as a hobby. They absolutely love getting out there and finding (I think they are called veins) of rocks. Your hobby sounds like a lot of fun, and it doesn’t cement you as a nerd – – it cements you as an interesting person who is well-polished!
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A new hobby…how exciting. And your story had me engrossed to the end wondering…about that dead spot. I’m glad it buffed out/ Thanks for ran interesting story about a hobby I did not know anything about. Do you have a picture of your work?
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Lol! I do, but can’t figure out how to paste it! I’ll see if I can add it to the original post.
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I really enjoyed this piece. I like the self-aware humor when you realize you need to learn the names of the machines. (Doesn’t writing do that, show us what we haven’t figured out yet?) I like your attitude about that imperfection, and how your ending takes us by surprise, but not really 🙂
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Aren’t rocks just the best? I have a home near the beach and I often take walks looking for seaglass and rocks. But, not just any rock. I have collections: rocks with a strip across it, heart shaped rocks, rocks that are layered, rocks that are a specific color, body-shaped rocks, etc… My family and friends that visit and see my wooden bowls filled with a spefic rock types think I’ve lost my mind. Maybe I have. Great slice!
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Kim, I so enjoyed reading about lapidary. That is something I have very little experience with, save for one or two rounds with my rock tumbler when I was a kid. It sounds really special to get to use all those tools and make something beautiful! I love your last line.
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