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Home What's New
2006
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Arts of Alaska
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Garden Art
Natural Sculpture
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The last two years have been exceptional for Stone Arts of
Alaska. Sales in Alaska have gone up yearly.
It is satisfying that so many of our customers are returnees. We are
building a regular and loyal clientele at our Craig, Alaska location,
people who not only return but bring family and friends.
ART SHOW
Linda Abbott of Ketchikan hosted an art
show for Stone Arts of Alaska and Tactile From Nature. Gary
McWilliams of Stone Arts of Alaska exhibited outside works in stone.
Our friend, Gail Person, of Tactile From Nature, exhibited indoor
lamps. To see Gail’s lamps with our stone, go to our
Functional Art page. To see all her
work, go to her website: www.tactilefromnature.com.
Linda’s outdoor garden is something to behold.
On a hillside, with the blue Pacific and green forested islands as a
backdrop, her colorful garden provides one of the nicest settings
imaginable for the showing of outdoor stone art. The photographs
below show some of it. Look under Sculpture
and Garden Art to see closer
photographs of the stone work.
“EMERGENCE”
A landmark for 2006 was the completion, and the
subsequent sale, of a stone sculpture I christened “Emergence”. I
had worked on, and suffered over, this female form for several years.
My vision for the piece from the outset was of some relation between
female and nature -- of female emerging from the primordial – of
female rising from the waters, the lily pads, the mists.
The color of the raw stone, an exceptional piece
of pink marble from Prince of Wales Island, suggested something
female. Not solely pink, it had bands of yellow, orange,
and green as well. The sculpture is mounted on Prince of Wales Greenstone, a
stone that, when polished, clearly suggests waves on water.
“Emergence” now resides in the Los Gatos, California home of Ed
Rossi. The photo below shows Gary McWilliams at work on “Emergence”.
See Sculpture for photos of the finished
piece.
MUSHROOMS
Karen and I like to collect and eat wild mushrooms. We are particularly fond of chanterelles. But I also like to
carve wild mushrooms. The Circus Conglomerate works especially
well because its red spots suggest the well known Amanita Muscaria.
I carved several mushrooms, including a
small pair set by the pool of a red sandstone birdbath. Another is
large enough to sit on, hence a “Toadstool”.
GREENSTONE TABLES
In the past, we have made most of our tables out
of Aphrodite Marble and Circus Conglomerate. This year, we
tried One Duck Greenstone. The first shown is a
mosaic of greenstone, the second a coffee table made of a beautiful
sawn slab, the third an end table with wood. These tables
also exhibit Karen Howell’s fine blacksmithing and woodworking.
See Functional Art for more tables.
NEW LAPIDARY STONE.
Three new stones are available for the lapidary artist. All are
from Prince of Wales Island. To see other stones, view our
Lapidary Stone page.
The first, Chocolate Chip Stone, is composed of
hematite spheres embedded in calcite. In cross section, the spheres
are about the size and color of chocolate chips. Yum.
The second, Alligator Stone, is a composition of
white crinoid fossils embedded in dark limestone. The crinoid stems,
when cross cut, are circular. When cut lengthwise, they can look like an alligator’s mouth. A most whimsical stone.
The third new stone, Piedmontite, is wine purple.
It can be solid in color. Or it may be patterned with black and
white minerals. A manganese epidote,
it is a very uncommon mineral.
NEW NATURAL SCULPTURE
We at Stone Arts of Alaska are always on the
lookout for natural sculpture. We sell most of what we find but, of
course, retain special pieces for our own collection. “Eskimo Girl”
was found this year. Come visit her in Bellingham, along with “Nessie”,
“Spider Man”, the “Two Frenchmen”, “Cyclops”, and “Decomposing
Beethoven”. Below, “Eskimo Girl” plays in the snow. Open our
Natural Sculpture page to view some of our
collection pieces.
TRAVELS
Karen and I went to Greece in January, a trip not
oriented around stone or sculpture but one that became so as the month
went on. We spent most of our time on Crete. We much admired the
stone work of the Minoan people, a civilization that reached its peak
thirty-five hundred years ago. It was apparent that the Minoans not
only had a wonderful eye for form but also an appreciation of the
intrinsic beauty of stone itself, an orientation I share. In Athens,
we virtually lived in the National Museum and at the Acropolis. It is
impossible to describe the art and craftsmanship of the Classical and
of the other eras of Greek history without resorting to cliché. So I
will not try. May you be so lucky to go there.
Remember: The
finest stone in the Northwest comes from Alaska.
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