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Tucson electric park: renegades rock the show
Sunday, January 31, 2010
There are more than 40 gem shows in Tucson in February. At a pace of one show per day it would still not be possible to see them all in one month. The shows have changed over the last 20 years. Many of them used to be just guys selling rocks out of a tent or an RV. There was a Woodstock meets Wild West kind of feel and down-home friendliness. Vendors remembered you from year to year and even invited you to visit them at home if you happened to be in, say, Arkansas. The Tucson Electric Park Gem Show still has that homey feeling and retro atmosphere. The vendors love what they do and love sharing it with their customers. Many vendors have left the major promoter shows and come to the Electric Park to be a part of this unique community.
This show has gems and beads and lots of ‘em, especially at Village Originals. There are also fossils, petrified wood and all manner of furniture and household items made of fossil rock. The center of the show is home to huge mineral sculptures from Tucson’s own Zee’s Minerals. And if you are tired of gems, there is a Native American store, many clothing and gift vendors and several different kinds of ethnic and international imports.
Left: Agate slices from Village Originals. Right: A view of the show at Tucson Electric Park. Don’t you just love that amazing Arizona sky? Below: Furnishings made of fossilized stone; resin castings of dinosaur fossils; a big pile of deer antlers.
getting stoned on stones
In the past it has been hard for me to get excited about jewelry displays. They seemed like a necessary evil, bland and nondescript. Now, thanks to Greg Puhler at Flat Earth Trading Company, displays are HOT! Greg is located right here in Tucson and he carries hand carved wood display items for necklaces, rings and bracelets as well as several specialty displays. They all come in light or dark colors to compliment any style of jewelry. These are just a few of my favorite designs, available on Greg’s website. Check out Flat Earth and put some sizzle in your next show!
on display
I have fallen in love at Electric Park! I am in that giddy, altered state that comes with obsession. I am in love with a stone! I always look for new and unusual stones to use in my work. This year I found Tiffany Stone. This mineral is a byproduct of beryllium mining. The fabulous desert sunset color is a combination of minerals bound together in a quartz matrix: purple fluorite, pink rhodonite, white opal and red, yellow and brown agate and jasper. Mined by Zion Prospector owner Todd Harris, this mineral is rarely seen because it is usually destroyed in the processing of beryllium. Somehow I just can’t imagine anything this beautiful being a waste product. As is often typical with love, this affair won’t last long. Once Todd sells his current supply he will not have access to more raw stone. Sigh........
Left: Large chunks of Tiffany Stone from Utah. Below: Cabochons cut from Tiffany Stone.
Left: Gold In Quartz stones. Below: Onnik Arakelian, Ivory Lynd and crew at the Gold In Quartz booth in the big tent at Tucson Electric Park.
Gold In Quartz is another of my favorite stones. Through a proprietary process Onnik Arakelian infuses white quartz, black quartz and jade with precious metals. Gold, silver or copper veins create a weblike pattern in the stone, complimenting and enhancing it’s original structure. Gold In Quartz is available in both calibrated and free form cabochons and in rough slabs for lapidary artists.
