Thursday, March 18, 2010

Piepstone Red

A small update - I've searched for alternatives to the Red Jasper, and found one in the form of Minnesota Pipestone.

This sandstone was traditionally used by Native Americans as a carving stone for making pipes. This is where it got its name. While I don't find the color as pretty as the Jasper, I can certainly say that it is easier to grind.















It was also significantly cheaper. Another bonus.















The old porcelain mortal and pestle I had been using was straining to keep up. It finally split into pieces. So I went out and got a new stone model that seems to work much better.

Initially, I was disappointed in this color, it didn't seem to handle much better than the Jasper. Part of my theory about the problems I was having was that I wasn't grinding the pigments properly. I thought that the powder was too coarse, this was making it hard for the pigment to bind well.

I went back and ground it again and this was a big improvement.

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