Jasper Butterfly

Numerous skilled lapidaries have made gemstone butterflies. I remember George Gali’s bright gem butterflies featured at his many show booths, each delicately perched on an attractive mineral base. I also recall the butterfly pins and pendants of Ray Karr. I once saw a collection of gem butterflies at a California show that looked so real that I wondered how the artists ever got the case closed.

I tried my hand at gem butterflies only once. I chose paisley jasper from Brenda, Arizona, which was abundant in the late ’50s when I was living in Wickenburg. I gave the butterfly to my mother, an avid gardener, for her birthday. The reason I didn’t make more was that during this same period I was taking carving lessons from Bob Marvill, casting lessons from Rob Giltner, working on a book, and writing monthly features for Lapidary Journal. However, I did keep notes on my butterfly, and I’m beginning to wonder which wooden box holds the rest of that Brenda jasper.

In addition to the many bright highly patterned jaspers, there are also many gem materials adaptable for butterflies. The material should not be unusually heat-sensitive, have strong cleavage, or be brittle (it should be tough). Some of the best are agate, jasper, wonderstone or rhyolite, Ohio flint, Missouri mozarkite, Arizona pastelite, Michigan datolite, nephrite, serpentine, and thulite (“Lapis Nevada”). Of course, other materials may be used, but may present more problems. Dr. A.W. Hobby once made a magnificent gem butterfly from Australian opal.

To choose a butterfly, look at an insect or butterfly and moth book to study color, pattern, and wing shapes. When you consider which material to use for your butterfly, consider the differences in color and pattern that exist between a specimen’s upper and lower wings. It’s also helpful to look closely at live butterflies. The wings are not flat. Take note to which parts of the wings are the highest, the lowest, the most rounded, and how the antennae are attached to the head.

STEP 1.
After choosing your butterfly design and material, draw or trace a pattern. Make a template from sheet metal or plastic, or cut the separate parts from sticky transparent vinyl. Keep the original picture handy.

STEP 2.
Cut 3 slabs of the chosen material, then pick out 1 that best defines the upper and lower wings. Using a fine blade, split the best slab. Open it up like a book to find the mirror image necessary for the right and left wings.

STEP 3.
Trace the wing pattern or stick it on. (The body of the butterfly will be made out of a different material.) Use trim saw and nippers to cut near the outline of the wings.

STEP 4.
Shape the wings with the coarse (120) grinding wheel and follow with the 220 wheel.

STEP 5.
To make realistic wings, the top and the underside will have to be slightly curved and thinned to the edges. This can be done on a grinding wheel, but here I suggest switching to the Foredom, curving and thinning the wings with this machine and an assortment of silicon-carbide tools. These include a small sphere, a bullet-shaped tool, and a tool that I dubbed “the haystack.”

STEP 6.
Set the wings aside and work on the body. It should be a solid color, opaque, and neutral. Since the wings are curved and thin, they will need more support than epoxy or cement. Ray Karr used sterling silver under the stone wings, but I cut the body in a way to give added support, using the following method. Cut a body that is quite thick but has the thick part below. Cut small (about 1/4″) extensions on each side of the top and bottom, shaping them like the top and bottom of the wings. Finish the sides of the body flat except for the head and lower-part extensions, which should slope upward. Thin these extensions at the top and bottom to match the wing edges and finish them in the round. Fine-grind the body.

STEP 7.
With a pointed tool in the flex-shaft machine, draw a fine line or make a thin indentation to define the upper and lower parts of the wing. As an alternate method, use a thin, round saw on the flex shaft and make a small, fine slit between the upper and lower portions of the wings. Use flex-shaft tools to delineate body parts and to drill 2 tiny holes in the head for attaching the antennae.

STEP 8.
Sand and polish the wings. Use wet or dry sanding cloth: 220, 400, and 600. Disc sanders work well. It is not necessary to polish the underside of the wings or body. The upper part of the body should be polished but not the 2 extensions where the wings will be epoxied. Tin oxide or cerium oxide on felt will give a good polish.

STEP 9.
The antennae can be made of gold, silver, or black wire. Use round-nose pliers to curve the antennae to match the curve of your picture and pattern.

STEP 10.
Mix 5-minute epoxy according to directions. Spread epoxy evenly on the body extensions and place the wings on carefully, 1 at a time. It may be necessary
to support the wings while the epoxy is drying. A support can be made of crushed tissue paper, wax, or clay. After curing the bond for at least 8 hours, put small drops of instant cement in the holes drilled for the antennae, then immediately drop the antennae in place.

STEP 11.
Once you’ve completed your butterfly, save your notes in a place that is easy to remember. It took me a long time to find mine. (The butterfly can be made with all diamond equipment, but if the chosen pattern is complex, remember diamond cuts faster than silicon carbide.)

A gem butterfly can be displayed in different ways. Mount it on a drusy specimen. Carve a gem flower for it. If it is translucent, hang it from an invisible cord or wire in front of a window. Put it on the cover of a glass or ceramic candy dish. Use it for a Christmas or Easter ornament.

June Culp Zeitner has been writing for Lapidary Journal since 1956, and joined the editorial staff in 1967. She has lectured at regional and national shows since 1962, and is the author of nine gem and mineral books. In 1987, Ms. Zeitner helped to start the National Rockhound and Lapidary Hall of Fame at the Pioneer Museum in Murdo, South Dakota. To read more about this author, see “Queen of Heart,” January 1997.

Lapidary Journal, February 2001

HooverandStrong.com | 800-759-9997 | (fax) 800-616-9997
info@hooverandstrong.com