MARYSVILLE — Diane Weyer of Port Susan sweated under her own hot lights as she transformed a lifeless rock into the animal she saw inside of it.
“I’m turning a piece of snowflake obsidian into a snow leopard,” Weyer said, as she used dremel bits on the spotted stone during the Marysville Rock & Gem Club’s 40th annual “Rocktoberfest” Oct. 11. “To get the main shapes, you use the grinding wheel, but the dremel bits bring out the fine details, before you run over it with a felt tip covered in diamond paste for the final polish.”
While Weyer did her detail work, Marysville’s Kathy Woods brought out the colors of her jewel stones at the grinding wheel, and rockhounds such as Sara and Eric Lin browsed through the selection of slabs at Totem Middle School.
Dottie Haage, publicity chairwoman for the rock and gem club, deemed the weekend’s turnout “phenomenal” in the face of dismal weather and competing events.
“From the first hour to just before we shut down, this place was packed,” said Haage, who’s been part of the past seven “Rocktoberfests.” “It got a little thinner that Sunday afternoon, since the Seahawks had a home game against Dallas, but there were still plenty of people here.”
In addition to the event’s six vendors, Haage touted the featured Olive M. Colhour exhibit, showcasing six display cases of stone floral and fantasy carvings, as well as Florentine mosaics, created by the Rockhound Hall of Fame’s First Lapidary Laureate.
“I still feel like a newcomer to these shows, because even the old-timers are constantly learning new things,” Haage said. “Regardless of what your interest is in the field, you’re not locked into any one thing at these shows. We’ve got diggers, folks who work stones into jewelry, people who like to polish and display specimens, the specific collectors of jade and obsidian … There are so many facets to it. We even have attendees who are into faceting gemstones.”
Haage always wonders how each year’s show will manage to fit in the same compact cafeteria space, but she credited her fellow club members with making it happen.
“It’s about sharing our passion with the public,” Haage said. “It builds a sense of camaraderie.”
