The Stone Bead at Lithia Artisans Market

Posted on April 26, 2012 by Marcus Scott

Beach-combing for jade along the southern Oregon coast. Marcus Scott of The Stone Bead.

The Stone Bead will be displaying hand-cut stone beads every weekend at the Lithia Artisans Market of Ashland, Oregon (LAMA). The artists and artisans of the Rogue Valley and beyond gather along Ashland Creek during the sunny season to display and sell our creations, listen to original local music, and celebrate the abundance of our Mother Earth. I am honored to be part of this amazing group of talented artisans. Lithia Artisans Market is the hub of art and music in Ashland, Oregon, every weekend from mid-April ’til mid-Novemeber.

Hand-cut custom beads I did over the off-season. The Stone Bead at Lithia Artisans Market of Ashland. Art along Ashland Creek.

I did some amazing rock hounding over the winter months. From Bandon, Oregon to Big Sur, California, me and my beautiful lady, Carola Marashi, ventured up and down the coast stopping wherever the rivers meet the sea to explore the beaches of the Pacific. It is amazing what you find when you are open to the guiding light of the universe. We found jades in many shades of green, jaspers in all colors of the rainbow, agates, diorites, and petrified woods. Big Sur Jade was somewhat elusive, especially at Jade Cove; however, we had a bit of luck in Kirk Creek. Both Mendocino and Sonoma Counties were a pleasant surprise for me as a jade collector. Wow! Can’t wait to share my new Northern California jade beads that really look and feel like pre-Columbian artifacts. I have always worked as an artisan to master the look of ancient stone beads. After 20 years of stone cutting, I think I have honed my lapidary skills enough to say, “I’m getting it”. Simple is beautiful.

Soon to be beads from the northern California coast.

This weekend is “A Taste of Ashland”. The Stone Bead is stoked to be a part of the downtown scene and excited about the lineup of music at the Lithia Artisans Market. For more about the lineup, follow this link…. lithiaartisansmarket.org/a-taste-of-ashland. Art and music come together on Calle Guanajuato to create magic. Be sure to give yourself permission to be part of the enchantment and come explore the wonderful creations behind the plaza every weekend in Ashland, Oregon. Art along Ashland Creek. Support local, it matters.

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The Stone Bead at HeartFest 2012

Posted on January 26, 2012 by Marcus Scott

The Stone Bead will be at HeartFest 2012, Feb. 11 and 12. Art by Carola Marashi, poster design by me, Marcus Scott.

Heart~Fest 2012 is my first show of the new year, February 11 and 12 at the Briscoe ArtWing, 265 North Main, Ashland, Oregon. Super excited to be making this show happen again.

Wa-hooo, it is 2012. Can you feel it, paradigms are shifting whether you like it or not. Me… I like change, and I believe we have been ready for this ride for about 40 years now, overdue.

I am preparing some new Heart~Rock Pendants for HeartFest. I am seeing hearts in everything these days.

We are at the end of the first month of 2012 and it has been already been a momentous year for me and my business. I was the featured artist of the month for January, 2012 in Locals Guide (click here to link). I feel honored to be part of this thriving community in Ashland ~ Talent, Oregon. So talented here in the land of ash.

Hearts on the beach. 2012 is destined to be the year of the love revolution.

I want to thank my beloved, Carola Marashi, for the artwork she provided for HeartFest 2012. We worked as a team to create the poster and promo materials. That was a lot of fun. She will also be showing her Heart~Art at HeartFest.

Hearts abound because love resounds, over and over, everywhere you go.

“Let… love… rule….”     Lenny Kravitz

 

Banded Red Jasper Heart carved from found beach material. Sonora, Mexco.

Stay tuned as I will be putting up some more new images real soon, and working on a store-front in the not too distant future. I have done some amazing collecting recently along the Pacific coast-line. I am so grateful for the guidance of a higher power, and the blessed gifts provided by mother nature. I am constantly in awe of the echo of beauty which resonates everywhere all the time. Life… what a gift.

Hope to see you all at Heart~Fest 2012. I’ve got some awesome new hearts in the works.

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“The Stone Bead” at 2011 MidSummer’s Dream Festival

Posted on May 23, 2011 by Marcus Scott
MidSummer's Dream - Ashland's Premiere Art & Music Festival

Poster for 2011 MidSummer's Dream - Ashland's Premiere Art & Music Festival. Artwork for this years poster by artist and friend Inger Jorgensen.

“The Stone Bead” is once again exhibiting at Ashland Oregon’s Premiere Art & Music Festival. After taking a break from this festival for a year, I am excited to be back at the park-like grounds of the Briscoe ArtWing for the seventh annual MidSummer’s Dream Art & Music Festival. The event takes place June 11 & 12. This is also the same weekend as Southern Oregon University’s graduation commencement. The town of Ashland is bustling with the energy of graduates and festival goers.

If you have never been to MidSummer’s Dream, you owe it to yourself to check out this event. This is the best Art & Music Festival in Ashland, and its free to the festival goer. There will be about 75 to 80 regional artist and artisan booths, as well as two stages highlighting some of the best musicians southern Oregon has to offer. For more information on the event, follow the blog at midsummersdreamfestival.com — information about the event is being added every few days. You should also go to the Facebook page and become a fan of the festival. Did I mention that the event is free. Free!!!

I have been super busy making hand sculpted stone beads. I’ve been designing jewelry for 20 years and feel like my pieces are better than ever. I am extremely happy with my latest series of boulder opal pendants. However, my favorite pieces lately are featuring green-stone beads made from material found on the beaches of Northern California. The hand-cut nephrite jade cylinder beads I have been creating are nearly identical to pre-Columbian beads I have in my personal collection, but made in my humble shop in Talent, Oregon — very cool!!!  I always envisioned being able to replicate the look and feel of ancient stone beads. It is interesting living in a world going full tilt, and working to recreate something ancient cultures perfected over 2000 years ago.

The theme for this years event is “Creating Paradigm Shift”. Maybe part of that shift is the understanding that the past, the present, and the future are all intricately connected. Maybe part of that shift comes from a new appreciation of the simplest of things, and the humblest designs. It seems to me that civilization is spinning out of control. Maybe taking time to just count beads on a strand would do the average human a lot of good. Maybe part of the shift is to slow down.

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“The Stone Bead” at the 2011 Whole Earth Festival

Posted on April 24, 2011 by Marcus Scott

The Stone Bead is honored to have been accepted to exhibit at the 42nd Annual Whole Earth Festival on the campus of the University of California, Davis. This is one of the premiere festivals in California, taking place May 6, 7 & 8 and free to the general public — three stages of music, over 100 art & craft booths, great food, and vision for a better world.

I have been working non-stop at the grinding wheel to create the beginning of my 2011 Collection. My season has already begun, I have shown the last two weekends at the Lithia Artisans Market in Ashland, Oregon — awaiting Whole Earth Festival to unveil my newest pieces.

I am hoping to have three tables full of new pieces — hand sculpted stone beads and pendants turned into wearable art. I’ve been part of the Whole Earth Festival for the last five years. In the program guide my business is referred to as “Soul Creations Jewelry” — my registered business name with the state of California. Recent life changes, and the fine tuning of my art-form have inspired me to rename my business “The Stone Bead”.  I’ve been in the lapidary arts for almost 20 years so “The Stone Bead” seemed an appropriate title as it perfectly describes, in the most simple terms, what I do — I make hand carved stone beads.

A sample of some of my newest hand cut stone beads and pendants.

I am excited to show my newest creations which include hand-carved turquoise pendants from various mines throughout the southwest United States, hand-sculpted serpentine and diorite beads from the beaches of northern California, hand-cut jade earrings from Big Sur, hand-polished jasper pendants from southern Oregon river beds, boulder opal pendants and earrings from Queensland, Australia, fossils from Utah, Madagascar, Morocco, Mason Creek, Illinois and much more. I have been super busy. I work until my fingers bleed, then I take a break until the next day when I do it all over again.

If you are in the greater Davis, California area (Sacramento and the Bay Area) and want the opportunity experience a truly excellent festival, come by the Whole Earth Festival, May 6-8. Be sure to stop in and see me, Marcus Scott, in my artisan booth, “The Stone Bead”. My space is located behind the Main Stage, on the south side of the quad on the UC Davis campus. See ya at Whole Earth!

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Welcome to The Stone Bead

Posted on January 12, 2011 by Marcus Scott

That's me, Marcus, cutting a stone pendant in my shop.

“The Stone Bead” specializes in creating hand-cut stone jewelry. This small business is owned by me, Marcus Scott, an Ashland, Oregon native now residing in the tiny town of Talent, Oregon (three miles north of my hometown). I make and sell handmade stone beads and pendants, crafted into tribal stone jewelry, at our local art and craft market, the Lithia Artisans Market, as well as the local Rogue Valley Growers and Crafters Market. You can also see my handcrafted stone jewelry at numerous art shows and festivals throughout the Pacific Northwest.

I have been collecting old beads and picking up stones since my earliest memories. My grandpa Howard gave me my first rock tumbler at age 10.

This is the necklace I wear. It is a mixture of found stones I cut, polished, and drilled, and a couple old millefiori beads from the 1800's, Venice, Italy (aka. African trade beads).

I have been known to hand-cut almost any stone you can think of — found stones collected on the beaches of Northern California and Southern Oregon, the Cascade and Siskiyou Mountains, as well as the deserts of Eastern Oregon, and more exotic material from Mexico, South America, Africa, and Australia. The stones are all hand sculpted into beads by me, the artisan.

I am influenced by ancient cultural traditions, from the Maya of Mexico and Central America to the Dogon tribe of Mali, Africa. “The Stone Bead” fashions stones into beads with the look and feel of Pre-Columbian pieces. I love the simple life, and when it comes to jewelry and stone cutting I often feel the path of least resistance is the true path. My pieces let the stones speak for themselves. I am blessed to do what I do for a living.

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