Coprolite Pyrite Earrings

[Bev]

Let me preface this with it is below zero here with wicked wind chills, so I'm trapped in the house. :-(

I had purchased a piece of pyritized marine coprolite at MAPS last year and made it into a necklace. But it was just too heavy to wear. And I had several small pieces of pyritized coprolite that were too small to wrap but too heavy for earrings. So I put them into a plastic sandwich baggy and wapped them with a hammer.

Hmmm, very brittle and now the pieces were too small. I couldn't find my super glue and wasn't sure if it would stick to the pyrite anyways, but I know that silicone caulk will stick rocks together. So I put a dab of silicone onto the earring base and rolled it in the pyrite pieces. Left it sit overnight and I'm currently wearing a pair. Very simple and pretty fossil earrings. :-D

Does anyone know if I can seal these with, say, clear fingernail polish? Or would recommend a sealer?

FYI, I have found that storing/displaying my earrings on wax candles is great, expecially with the posts, they slip in better.

[Mediospirifer]

Nice earrings!

I don't know a lot about sealing rocks, but I've seen superglue mentioned in one of the microfossil prep threads as a way to protect exposed fossils from acid baths. I've tried nail polish for the same purpose, and it seems to work reasonably well.

If you're looking for more pieces to work with, look at the bag of pyrite nodules I included in the fluorescent rocks box I sent you. They're coprolites, and would be a good size for this type of earring. Or they might work with a technique I've seen (but haven't tried yet) where piece of wire is bent into a hairpin and twisted to form a loop, with a stone then glued onto the loop. You could make some danglers or beads this way, although I'm not sure how durable they'd be--the ones I saw were on twisted-wire sculptures.

Another good stone to look up the properties of is tigereye. That's also mind-supporting.

I'm sorry to hear about your strokes! Take care of yourself, and GOOD LUCK. I hope you don't have either any lasting effects, or any more of them!!!

[Bev]

Thank you so much for the kind words and tips on protecting and setting the stones.

The strokes were several years ago and I have since had surgery. In many ways, the fossil hunting and learning have been a large part of my recovery.

Bev : )

[Mediospirifer]

Learning new things is good for everyone, even those of us who aren't recovering from major health issues! And sharing that knowledge is uplifting. I love being ably to show something new to someone who's interested, or firing interest in someone who's indifferent, especially kids.

I've been thinking further about how I would go about making glued-loop beads or danglers out of my small pyrites nodules. I'd try it with 2 different gauges of wire: the base loop in 22 or 24 gauge, with an additional wire in 28 or 30 gauge in a single strand around the middle of the nodule for extra support, twisted at both ends around the base loop while it's still a hairpin. Then twist the hairpin into a loop and dip the whole thing in laquer.

This wouldn't be as effective for a smooth-polished, slippery stone, but it should work with the crystal-encrusted pyrite lumps.

I think I have a project to try...

[Bev]

Wow, sounds brilliant! I would love to see them when you're done! :-D

[caldigger]

Man, that's some SH_TTY jewelry...if you'll excuse the pun.

[Bev]

Just glad you know what coprolite is. :-D

[AeroMike]

Bev, I'm sorry to hear of your strokes. I hope you recover fully. I'm dealing with the possibility of losing my older brother (our birthdays are one day apart but a couple of years difference). He has suffered some strokes and heat attacks and refuses to quit smoking and drinking. I told my mom he is living his life so let him be. He has never been over weight or anything, in fact he was a runner for so many years but he took up the nasty habit of smoking. His last one happened in September and the news was he now have too much damage to his lower heart. He still smokes about 2 packs a day and drinks hard alcohol every day. I'm hoping to seem him over Christmas.

Anyhow, I'm praying for you. Hopefully this will make you smile..... I guess you could call your earrings "Hung Dung" lol have a wonderful day Bev!

[Bev]

Thank you so much Mike! "Hung Dung", I love it! LOL :-D

The strokes were a couple of years ago and fossil hunting is now a positive part of my recovery. I'm learning so much and getting out in nature is always good for a person.

Don't be too hard on your brother. Depression and "giving up" is a part of what happens. Alcohol thins the blood while smoking thickens it, so they kind of counteract one another.

I was not overweight and very healthy, but my cholesterol was incredibly high (hereditary). Plaque was breaking off and building up and starving my brain of oxygen. Women don't present the same way that men do. I had two strokes that were misdiagnosed as panic attacks and a whole series of mini-strokes that after a car accident (whiplash injuries, pinched nerve in neck, etc.) they did an MRI and found that nearly half of my brain on the right side had atrophied. The neurosurgeons were shocked that I was still functional. But it accounted for a lot that had gone on with me for the prior several years - balance issues, confusion, personality changes, depression, excessive sleep, and more confusion and isolation.

I was relegated to full disability and felt totally useless - why even bother to live if this was living? And lots of bad things happened...

I am not the same person I used to be.

BUT with the fossils I have carved myself a little tiny niche where I can be of service to others while I learn. People actually come to my little fossil webpage and blog!

And the community here at TFF has been so open and supportive with all of my dumb questions and experiments... Ya'all do have patience!

Strokes isolate you physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually. If your brother at least has a computer and he can use it (took me a while to relearn that) he will be less isolated. Please feel free to give him my email bcfossillady at gmail dot com If he writes me, I can share with him as I am just a step ahead or on the same road at least. :-D