Where Nature, Sacred Geometry, Mysticism and Art Intersect
I started drawing geometric designs when I was very small, maybe five or six years old. I would see stars, snowflakes and other natural patterns inside my head... and would then try to draw them, coloring in the squares on graph paper. It was not long before my mother accumulated a substantial collection of bookmarks!
As I grew older, the patterns grew more complex. I was maybe nine or ten when my first crude attempts at free-hand geometric patterns saw the light of day. By the time I was thirteen, they had become fairly intricate. In part inspired by the Spirograph-- my favorite toy--I would draw them on paper with the finest point black marker I could get my hands on, and then give them to friends and family.
For the next 30+ years, I would add small versions of these intricate designs to greeting cards, envelopes and letters... and sometimes they have just "appeared," during quiet moments.
I have also collected rocks since I was little. Although the visual appeal of a rock does matter to me, my "relationship" with them is primarily kinesthetic... if the rock doesn't "feel" right in my hand I rarely keep it.
One day-- inspired in part by seeing some 1200-year old Viking designs on rocks-- it felt like the most natural thing in the world would be to add one of these patterns to a rock, so I tried to do so. The result was... well... "interesting," but not very appealing. My wife Sarah-- also a rock lover-- encouraged me to continue, and my first "serious" attempts became an anniversary present for her.
Many experiments followed, and the process has evolved from a rough pencil drawing to using "sharpie" permanent markers to using only black paint on pale rocks to the final colorful "versions" of today, which use permanent ceramic paint for the patterns, protected by many layers of a hard clear coat for protection.
The rocks have to "show" me where the pattern goes. For a myriad reasons, most rocks do not lend themselves to having a design added: The surface texture is wrong, the color is wrong, the surface is uneven, the shape is wrong, the size is wrong. I will often start decorating a rock because I think I see what to do-- but then it turns out I really don't.
After the stones have been painted, then signed and given a clear protective finish, Sarah will sometimes make a custom Treasure Bag for special stones, and some stone SETS. Many of the Treasure Bags-- which are small works of textile art, in their own right-- are made with material from Sarah's extensive collection of vintage fabric. No two bags are ever exactly the same; each one is created specifically for the stone it protects.
Sarah and I have both been beach combers and rock collectors since childhood. We are also active in the healing and metaphysics field, and have come to appreciate the power of stones-- especially decorated stones-- as personal talismans and power objects. For more extensive information, please visit the Alchemy Stone web site.
