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MEDIUM: Sculpture
I am the sole creator of my one-of-a-kind rock designs. My only assistant is Mother Nature, who through millions of years of bending and twisting, heating and cooling, and scraping and pounding the coast of Maine, has created a varied palette in dramatic designs. My wife helps me collect the rocks I use along Maine's coast and offshore islands. We collect where the shore is exposed to the strongest forces of nature's currents and pounding seas. Once we are on the beach, we follow the receding tide as we examine the rocks for color and design, fracture lines and porosity, hardness, and of course, shape. Lifting and eyeing each piece, I imagine what the rock will become. Once the rocks are in the shop, I work alone.
My guiding principle when I work is, with a few exceptions, to maintain as closely as possible the shape the rock was in when I found it. With this is mind, I designed my own lapidary equipment by adapting pieces I found to accept my diamond accessories I use to work the rocks. I have a 1903 leather-belt driven drill press to which I added a water-injection system and diamond-embedded core drills I had custom-made to my specifications. I use a 24 inch diamond slab saw for slicing the bases, and because Maine's rocks come in a mixture of minerals of varying hardness, I have constructed eight rotating drums with expandable belts. Each is embedded with diamond abrasive ranging from coarse to extremely fine. These allow me to hand polish my rocks. Occasionally a rock will need me to use an oxide of a formula I have created as one of the eight steps. I finish my work on a felt-polishing wheel. This gives the rock a glass-like finish. I do not use any artificial glazes or varnishes, no dyes or other substances.
I have over a dozen different series of designs encompassing both purely decorative art and functional art. In my birds-of-the-sea series, I combine my rocks with either sterling silver or brass. I also combine silver and rocks in my jewelry. My vases and candlesticks are solely rock. Each of my pieces is hand engraved with my signature. If you have any questions about my work, please visit my website or contact me directly.
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