Cameo carving books

Jewelry Discussion
1

I would like a list of books on Cameo carving. I have been unable to
find anything on this art so far. Thank you. Jerry

2

Hi: I would suggest you visit you public library and ask to see their
BOOKS IN PRINT volumes- if what you look for exists it will be listed
in those volumes.

Regards,
Joe Bokor
@Joe_Bokor2

3

Heres some more from quick look at “gem carving” with google:

http://www.mtmist.org/books.html

You will find more.

Jesse

4

Do a google search on “cameo carving” one site from theRe:

http://www.giovanniapa.com/story.htm

There are many listed some will help. The classic cameo was carved
with hand scraper tools. Today you can get power assistance with
small high speed air turbine tools with diamond or carbide bits.
These people have a low cost (relatively) system for doing this:

http://www.turbocarver.com/

You would want the mist cooled system. I believe Rio Grande is
selling these now. Now you need to acquire the skill – books won’t
do it.

Jesse

5

I would highly recommend “Cameos, Old & New” by Anna M. Miller,
G.G., Gemstone Press (http://www.gemstonepress.com), ISBN
0/943763-17-7.

While this book is not a step by step guide to carving cameos, it
does go into intensive detail on the different types and styles of
cameos for the last 3 thousand years. You can not help but to learn
a great deal about what it takes to carve a good cameo in shell,
agate, lava, or other media.

I also believe that Susan Allen once wrote a workshop article for
“Lapidary Digest” on carving an agate cameo. I don’t have easy
access to my archives at the moment, so I can’t tell you exactly
what issue.

While I do most of my carving with a TurboCarver and in general I
highly recommend it , I must say that of the 30 or so photos I have
seen over the years of cameo carvers in action, every single one was
using a fixed arbor.

One quick story on the subject of carving cameos: A friend of mine
travelled to Italy in the early seventies, and made a special point
of visiting Torre del Greco to see actual master cameo carvers in
action. She always tells of her confused disappointment when,
instead of seeing master artists struggling over there next
creation, what she beheld was a room full of middle aged men sitting
at their workstations wildly gossiping about sports, wine, food,
women, and politics; and once in a while glancing down at the work
under the wheel! Work they have been doing every day for
generations. While she still loves cameos, some of the magic and
mystery is gone for her.

Epaul Fischer
Gryphon Song Creations
http://GryphonSong.com