On set: Michael Boyd’s DVD

Learning from the best of the best

Here's Micheal Boyd cutting some Montana Agate at the Diamond Pacific Genie, my favorite piece of lapidary equipment. I have had mine for more than 10 years and it still runs as well as it did the day I bought it.

Originally Published 5-4-2013

Last week I was lucky enough to hang out in Colorado with my teacher, mentor, and close friend Michael Boyd during the filming of his upcoming IWP workshop video: Basic Lapidary for Jewelry Makers. It was really fun for me to finally transition to the behind-the-scenes video workshop team, rather than be in front of the camera yet again. I really am much happier when I get to wear my editor's hat at work!

The shoot went very well, and Michael's video will be a really great resource for anyone looking to add lapidary to their skill set. Truly, the best part of the experience for me (well, besides doing a good job on the work part of the week) was catching up with my pals, Ryan Gardner, Nancy Blair, Joe Korth and of course, Michael -- because I didn't make it to the CoMA Conference last year.

It took us two lunches and a dinner to catch everyone up on news, show reports, new stash additions, Tucson, gossip and all that stuff, and after having gone "underground" for nearly a year while I worked on my book, it was so much fun to be out and about with my tribe again. And, yes, the margaritas at Jorge's are still as great (and as potentially dangerous to your navigational skills) as I remember.

While I was there, I cut into some of the new "K2 Blue" material, fresh out of Pakistan via Tucson, I had a heart-to-heart with my mentor about the new body of work I am beginning, and caught up on what Michael has been up to himself -- including some gorgeous new pieces with luscious gold spirals and incredible surface textures.

Keep an eye on the IWP store for Michael's video -- due out in August 2013. There are also some sequels planned for Michael's first video, and hopefully both Joe and Nancy will be onboard for some filming and perhaps some projects for Lapidary Journal as well in the near future.

In the meantime, I will be on the road again next week to do more behind-the-scenes work for three more filming sessions in New England with three well-known metals artists. I don't want to let any corporate secrets out, so ... more on that later.

Be sure to check in at the IWP store for news and previews about the workshop videos, and I will be writing about my behind-the-scenes experiences here as the summer goes into full swing.

2014 promises to be a great year -- as far as workshop videos go.