I just received these opal beauties in last week. 

They are from Lightening Ridge, Australia.  They are cut from “nobbies which is a rounded concretion found in clay.”  They catch the light in different ways depending on the angle.  I see a new opal ring in my future.

Jeremy and I went to an art opening the other night at Winston Wächter gallery  http://www.winstonwachter.com  and finally met one of my favorite encaustic painters Christopher Reilly.  His paintings portray nature in an abundance of rich color and varied textures. He uses a varied mixture of wax, pastel, gouache, gesso and pigment layered on canvas to build up a thick and lush surface. Reilly then applies intensive scraping, re-heating, and re-molding techniques revealing the many layers beneath the surface. He will even carve into the encaustic surface to enhance the contours of the imagery. This process creates a dramatic contrast between portions of worn away and rough surfaces, which bring an earthy feel to the imagery, juxtaposed with the delicate organic imagery of the raised surfaces in the foreground.

The Honeycomb series came out soon after purchasing several of his paintings, coupled with reading several articles on colony collapse disorder.  http://www.ars.usda.gov/News/docs.htm?docid=15572