Jet:
Jet is one of the four gemstones on earth that are organic in nature, the others being pearl, amber, and diamond.  Like diamond, jet is a carbon compound, but it is not as old.  The hardness of jet varies, as does its natural finish, which ranges from a soft and lustrous black to a metallic surface much like hematite.  Prized in the past for its carvability, jet has been a favorite of jewelers for many centuries.
Amber:
Amber is another organic gemstone, which comes to us as the fossilized resin from various species of now extinct trees. Most of the amber I carve is from the Dominican Republic. Dominican amber is younger than Baltic amber, in the neighborhood of 15 to 25 million years old, as opposed to 65 million years for Baltic amber. I find the Dominican ambers to be more sturdy for carving and wearing. I also think the Dominican is more beautiful, ranging in color from traditional yellows and golds through reds in the Cherry amber and green and blue in the rare Dominican Blue amber. The blue is from an extinct tree named Hymenaea, which is a leguminous tree related to the carob. In none of my studies have I found any knowlege of what makes the blue amber so blue. A logical hypothesis is that perhaps, 15 million years ago, there was an abundance of calcium in the waters of the region. An excess of calcium in water gives the same breathtaking blue hues we see in the finest Dominican Blue amber. Cherry amber is only red on the outside. It comes from a newly discovered vein of amber, and once the surface of the amber is mined the material on the inside exhibits the more traditional colors. Hence it is tricky to carve Cherry amber, as it must remain basically the same shape as the nugget I start with, else all the red color is lost in the carving.
     Amber was once more prized than gold. During the crusades, the Teutonic Knights claimed the right to own it all, and it was death to keep it from them. Amber is the only gemstone that floats. One of the ways to test for true amber is to immerse it in water; amber will float in a 10% salt water solution and sink in fresh water. The name of this gemstone in Greek is electrum, from which we get the word electron. Amber holds a static charge, which makes it most interesting to carve! I look very much like a snow-woman while working due to the static making the dust cling to every surface it touches. Amber is a light and warming stone, said to be a charm against arthritis and rheumatism. Just looking at it, you can see why one might imagine that amber is indeed fossilized sunshine.
Fossil Ivory:
Fossil Ivory originates from the teeth and tusks of walrus and whale. But don't worry, we don't wap the little darlings on their cute and fuzzy heads with a club or anything. This material ranges in age from 10,000 to 50,000 years. It is called "Fossil" ivory to distinguish it from newer ivory, but since the fossilization process takes millions of years it is not completely fossilized. The colors range from a pale ivory cream though all tones of brown and beige, oranges, and rarely, pinks or greens. The layers sometimes have different colors giving it a cameo-like appearance. Fossil ivory is a resilient and beautiful material that likes to be worn up against the skin. It often takes on a deeper and more translucent hue as it picks up on the wearers body chemistry through the skin's natural oils.
Antler:
Antler carvings are similar in texture and appearance to bone carvings. Deer grow and shed their antlers every year, however, so I imagine the animals are much happier with me for using antler rather than bone. Antler is harder than wood but softer than stone, and is resilient and light. It does not have the grain that wood has, and I enjoy carving it for this reason, as it is easier to shape it as I would like. Antler has a porous center that does not take detail well, so the main challenge in carving antler is to make sure the design does not reach the core of the material. The color of antler varies from a cool white to a deep grey, with an occasional hint of lavender or green.
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