The last exhibit of Stone Poems I had was at Mockingbird Paperie in Ithaca and went from the beginning of July to the end of September of last year I. It was billed as the last time I was showing this type of work because I felt that general circumstances had changed drastically, and I needed to turn to forms of expression better suited to address them properly; basically painting and writing.
This decision was formally announced to my widest audience on the page in my website that is expressly dedicated to this type of work, and it included this sentence: " An interesting proposal (a formal commission) may still coax me to produce a new piece of this kind, but there will be no further serial production or gallery shows."
I think it was late in February of this year that I got a call from Mark Oros, friend and long-standing collaborator on artistic projects, who told me that my name had come up in a conversation he had with a gem collector who is a client of his (Mark is a lapidary artist) and who was interested in finding an artist who would accept a commission to make some wall pieces using some of his material.
To make a long story short, I accepted the challenge and this man, who lives in San Francisco, started sending Mark different types of semi-precious material that he wanted me to consider using. I worked for about a month on drafts for about ten pieces, I photographed the best five, and Mark emailed him the proposal. Unfortunately, what I had come up with was not what he had in mind.
Mark was then kind enough to ask if I would consider taking the pieces to term using gems of his own collection (some of which he would cut and polish himself) if he assumed the task of marketing them. I accepted gladly, and by the end March came the end of labor and the five babies were born.
You can take a peek at them below. If interested in a possible purchase please visit this page of the HASHNU STONES website that has other pictures (details of each piece) and price information. Enjoy!
FANCY MOM
Stone, driftwood, metal, Brazilian topaz, and linen in a lined cherry shadow box (24 3/8" x 15 1/4")
THE PERENNIAL GOOD GUY and BAD GUY This piece is no longer available
Stone, wood, flint, pyrite suns, wonder stone and linen in a lined cherry shadow box. (19" x 16 1/4")
HEARTFUL This piece is no longer available
WOODSTONE BONE
Stone, wood, prehnite, and Arizona peridot in a lined cherry shadow box (16 3/4" x 11")
JOURNEY BEYOND SEPARATION
Rusted vehicular droppings, obsidian fragments, painted Yupo paper, ocean jasper, crinoid fossil, crushed opals, and linen, in a lined cherry shadow box. (23 3/4" x 20 3/4")