Pocket XXII: Cave Dust – 10.125” x 19.125” x 1.75”, 2022, $2,700
Slate, marble, agate, rhodonite, lepidolite; crystals: realgar with orpiment
In The Studio
After my stone pattern pieces return from the waterjet I look for signs of “jet lag.” Not because they have just flown in from another time zone ;-), but because the water “jet” can “lag” when it cuts through certain stones. This happens only on the hardest stones. As the stream of water with garnet abrasive moves horizontally, it lags at the bottom of the cut and the edge can become fluted. That is where grinder time comes in!
Sometimes we have to grind entire sections if we are cutting a gabbro border, for example. Curves are the worst! Recently I have made several “curvy” pieces that have demanded a bit of grinding time. The amethyst crystal in “Cleavage V: Muted Passion” was a challenge. Amethyst is exceptionally hard, of course, but it was the thickness of this drusy that took some grinding finesse. It is exciting to have successfully cut another crystal without incident; it is not something we do every day. For the water jet to even cut small crystals required some experimenting. DOP wax on plywood won the gold medal!! More on that another time.
So with a little work, my rocks can be “cured” of their jet lag; however, they probably don’t suffer as much as I will when I go to the Canary Islands in October. My goal is to hit the ground running, but perhaps tempering that a tad will be wise ;-). Las Palmas is seven hours ahead and since our circadian rhythm adjust one hour per day, it could take me seven days to get back to normal. But on a three week residency, who can wait that long to get back to normal??? I found out about an app called Timeshifter that is supposed to give good advice on preparing for and dealing with jetlag. I’m looking forward to giving it a try along with lots of water, some melatonin, and no…less…alcohol on the plane. If you have any personal tricks to get through jet lag, I would love to hear from you. Meanwhile, I am interrogating my rocks for their views on the matter ;-).
Canary Islands Artist In Residency I’m continuing to prepare for my Canary Islands Artist in Residency in October. There are innumerable details to figure out including collecting some of the youngest rocks and some of the oldest rocks. That will involve additional traveling and sleuthing… It is hard work, but someone has to do it ;-).
If anyone has any personal experience in the Canaries, or knows anyone who does, I would love to hear from you!
Pocket XXI: Otherworldly Words – 8.125” x 18.0”x 2.25”, 2022, $1,400 Ferruginous silicified shale, marble, slate, heulandite with stilbite
In The Exhibition Hall Last week we exhibited at the Rocky Mountain Section of the American Association for Petroleum Geologists in Denver. It was wonderful to be back in the exhibition hall again. Thank you to those of you who joined us!
Flower Vignette II – 12.25” x 8.5”x 1.5”, 2022, $750 Chrysocolla sphere, marble, sodalite syenite, anyolite
In The Gallery For the past two years I have been working with the Colorado Mosaic Artists to bring a national mosaic exhibition to the Denver area and it has finally become a reality. I was very fortunate to have an artwork accepted in the show which is at the Foothills Art Center in Golden, Colorado. My work, “Reverberations,” will be on display and for sale at their Foothills Community Gallery from July 30 until October 2nd. There are over 48 works by 38 artists from around the country. I hope you will stop by if you are in the area!
Reverberations – 15.75” x 12.75”x 2.0” , 2022, $3,600 Banded barite with marcasite; pyrite, limestone
