Combining Digital techniques with the beauty of Nature
Bordering on the more abstract, these rocks have wild kinds of things going on within the stone, that when hit with light, bring out some fantastic shades of color that might often irradese or shine to reveal colors that one would not expect hidden for centuries inside the stone. Sometimes in special light or with filters, we can discover hidden patterns with this series. This kind of rock is the most fun to work with, because you never know what you are going to get until experimenting around with them. Getting these images larger and in two, three and four panels on large walls is dynamic. As wallpaper, they create a world of their own to enter into.
This image was captured at the Tucson Gem & Mineral show in a fleeting moment as I noticed a very abstract image of a dancer in the patterns of the various minerals. Very pleasing to view as a large print.
Looking further into this wild image, we sought out to enhance some of the colors in the stone that were a bit hidden & brought them to life. Still keeping the nice white, sand and dark areas, this is a fun image to view.
Much like Cha Cha, this image had the makings of a pleasant abstract pattern and the composition was less busy and more balanced. Every time you look at these, it is hard not to see something new and interesting in the stone.
I have never seen something like this before, so when looking at the brown sedimentary rock pattern that resembles wood grain, I was really amazed to see the minerals in the cracks that were opalized and the small baby opal in the seams. We applied a nice smoothing filter to this abstract that brought it all together in a synergistic image.
There are really nice specimens of Malochite at the mineral shows with the charicteristic green bubble patterns. This piece had some really unique deep azure blue in it, plus some sort of fleshy colored mineral that when looking at had faces hidden in the background. Look closely to see what you can find. A very soothing image, but with subtle messages.
Marked as Fossil Radiourian (cretaceous) from Western Australia this is a unique red / brown rock that has some sort of wood grain pattern to it throughout with a really cool white quartz inclusion running up the center. This is always exciting to view, as one can see many types of flowing patterns in the rock.
Is a fun piece that was scanned in and we discovered some really minute mineral patterns that just flowed through it breaking up bands of color and almost meteorite type coloration. This is “ Banded Tiger Iron” or Stromatolite from the Ord Ranges, Pilbara, Western Australia which we created a smoothing filter to bring all the wild patterns and colors together. As a fabric, this is a great fashion statement, on the wall, it invites the view to enter a forbidden world.
Pretty much a sliced rock from a copper mine in which you can see the cutting bands on the copper and all of the oxidization going on. Mixed in to the composition is some very nice green mineral deposit with lighter shades offering up a wild abstract image with a lot left to imagine & think about.
This was another rock that was sliced and not polished, but we wet it and out popped the colors and patterns from within the stone. One of the fun pieces that renders a unique square format that can be viewed from any angle. Looking at this abstract image always gets us a new feature or detail that comes to our eye each time looking at it.
This specimen had so many interesting patterns, that I was hard pressed to find just that “ one image “ and will keep working on this in the future. We spiced up the yellow a bit and took the wine red hue in the rock and brought it out. Looking into the cracks are so many beige rock chips that they just have a story to be told.
Not finding the one image, we thought about how the rock was found and sliced into a slab, then polished. Setting it on a black velvet background seemed to be just the right framing for the raw image and got another perspective of how to set off this unique picture. This also comes alive as a back lit transparency with LED lighting.
When I collected this rock, it wasn’t the prettiest one, but something in it attracted my eye. The Green and the Blue were readily apparent, but when we soaked the stone and scanned it, there was a really cool golden brown forest pattern that appeared. Being set off with the many veins running through the rock, this became one of our favorites to print large.
The colors in this rock were rather muted and we didn’t see the various colored veins running through until we dug into the smaller detail of the rock. The texture was very attracting to look at. Ironically, the “ black hole “ caught our eye as a focal point and the veins ran all over and out to the deep rust brown in the edges creating a very pleasing image to view.
What is Petrified Wood?
About 200 million years ago, a dense forest covered a low land with a tropical climate. Rivers and rainstorms washed mud and other sediments into the lowlands. Enormous coniferous trees lived and died in these lowlands. Fallen trees and broken branches were often buried by river sediments. Volcanoes erupted and blanketed the area with a high silica content volcanic ash. Rapid burial allowed the plant debris to escape destruction by oxygen and insects. The soluble ash was dissolved by groundwater flowing through the sediments. The dissolved ash served as a source of silica that replaced the plant debris, creating petrified wood. Trace amounts of iron, manganese, and other minerals were included in the silica and gave the petrified wood a variety of colors.
These Chinle formation specimens of petrified wood have been preserved by silicification. Two forms of silicification are common. The most abundant is wood that has been replaced and infilled by chalcedony or "agatized wood" The other is wood that has been infilled and replaced by opal mineral called “opalized wood.
Petrified wood (from the Greek root Petro meaning "rock" or "stone"; literally "wood turned into stone") is the name given to a special type of fossilized remains of terrestrial vegetation. It is the result of a tree having turned completely into stone by the process of permineralization. All the organic materials have been replaced with minerals (most often a silicate, such as quartz) while retaining the original structure of the wood. Unlike other types of fossils which are typically impressions or compressions, petrified wood is a three-dimensional representation of the original organic material.
The petrifaction process occurs underground when wood becomes buried under sediment and is initially preserved due to a lack of oxygen, which inhibits aerobic decomposition.
Native American Indian tribes had many beliefs involving the ancestral gods they followed in their lives. Focusing on some of the US Southwestern Indian tribes, such as the Navajo, Pueblo, Hopi, Zuni, Pawnee, and others, we find they sometimes used the same animals or symbols for many versions of the same mythological beliefs.
Animals appear in many of the myths and legends of the Native American Indian tribes, but they seldom were true animals but represented a mix of Indian lore with the traits of the animals or blending of the animal forms in a mythological sense.
Preparing the body of work in “Saga of the Ancient Ones”, we have adopted some Indian common folklore names to our Petrified Wood Abstract Images and how the Indian cultures used these folklore names as their people originated in certain regions of the North American tribes with their ancestors carrying forward the stories and the mythologies of their tribes in storytelling, as they had no written records other than petroglyphs of these stories and images on rock walls;
The “ Trickster “ is a common figure and usually was represented by the Coyote, Rabbit, or even the Spider in the Plains tribes and Southwest Indian tribes.
The Wolf and the Coyote were associated with many native stories of death and how figures came back to life in stories that had elaborate themes, thus embellishing the art of storytelling within the tribe’s history.
Creation myths from Native American tribes were often depicted by water creatures coming from the sea, lake or streams, such as turtles, fish, duck or beaver. They then went on to relate to the man or woman aspect, as the human took on the characteristics of the creatures.
Navajo and Pueblo tribes as well as some of the Plains Indians held belief that there were certain levels of existence as creatures emerged from form to gain a higher level evolving into different animals and creatures. As one world suffered, they evolved into a higher order, to overcome drought and become farmers or travel to hunt in another world, thus they would seek a new level in their world to evolve to.
The Hopi had a myth or theme of emergence which centered on the Spider Woman, who was a powerful earth goddess and the creator who is the mother of life. Together with Tawa, the Sun God, Spider Woman sang the “First Magic Song” and brought Earth, Light, and Life into being.
Some tribes had stories of Animal Wife or Animal Husband who might marry a deer disguised as a person. Often the animal spouse might take on the form of a bear, thus the interest in bear coats, animal fur for mythical purposes, and staying warm, as well. Indian kinship with the deer, elk, bear, wolf, coyote, and many birds were all part of this human/animal relationship.
Using this Native American theme, I chose names & stories of various Native American Indian cultures and the mythology of the Indian tribes. These Petrified Wood Abstract Images show a story that evokes the mystical qualities of the images of Petrified Wood over the ages rendered digitally from within the stone’s inner beauty as Natures-Illusions works of abstract art.
is the god of the dawn and of the east rising sun
is the god of the evening and of the west setting sun
is the master of bears from the Inuit tribe as the bear is revered in most Indian lore
is the Pawnee symbol representing the Earth and Sacred mother of every living creature
is a fertility deity in many Hopi and other Indian tribes revered from the travel of Mesoamerican Indian tribes and often found in petroglyphs depicting them as traders, tricksters, and music makers
were Hopi spirits that inhabit and control animal spirits, ancestors, spirits of wind, rain, clouds and thunder. More than 500 Hopi Kachina spirits span the mythologies of the tribe over many years
was a follower of the great peacemaker and a leader of his tribe transcending the cultural shift to precolonial Indian relationships with the white man
is the Navajo god of the winds
was a larger bird god creature that was large enough to carry most any large prey and often associated with the creation of thunder and revered as the most powerful bird figure
a Navajo legend associated with Coyote and First Woman ascended from the underworld to the surface world and they then had Sun and the Moon, gathered up stones and placed them in the sky to serve as stars
is the most respected goddess of the Navajo tribe or the Sun’s mistress who bore children. She is the power of life, fertility, and changing seasons. She is also the bearer of Monster Slayer and Child of Water through Navajo Indian folklore.
is a legend of a goddess who became pregnant and fell out of the sky and had a daughter who was the mother of twins, one twin, who shaped the sky and created the sun, moon, stars, mountains, plants and animals, the other twin, who made darkness, monsters, storms, and dangerous beasts
is Cherokee for the lucky hunter or first man who is married to first wife and sons that carry forth the traditions of the tribe
was Old Man Fire, old Man Coyote who created people, animals, and the earth
in Pawnee is the Creator God who is benevolent and venerated.
is Pawnee for the protector who leads the sun upward into the sky and soldier god
creates light, forests and food plants to eat Corn Maiden, Corn Mother were related to farming and providing of food for the tribes
creates impassable mountains, mosquitos, storms, and toads who drink all the water, made monsters, beasts, etc
is a Navajo legend associated with Rain and the Rain Clouds
is a Navajo legend associated with Bright Sun Light
the Trickster is in many stories and legends of many tribes. Often stories would involve how the Coyote might interact with the Eagle spirit and travel to different levels to bring back the dead and play tricks as they took on human figures in the stories
related in many tribes to the Eagle, White Owls, Hawks, Raven, Crow, and most songbirds, as well as waterfowl that provided food and feathers for the tribes’ needs and most all bird spirits were involved in many stories of the Indian spiritual world.
is the Lakota spirit and the personification of Time
the Storm Goddess and disasters of nature
The fun part of sliced geodes is that they make beautiful objects to display in windows and light areas of our everyday environment. My collection continues to grow as each one of these is unique and different in size, color and patterns they display. Oddly, they all have their own frame on the outside, as the rock is shaped. By placing them on white, black or clear backgrounds, there is a natural matting and framing that results in a most pleasing display. I like these in groups as well as backlighted displays. The possibilities with sliced geodes images are virtually limitless!
The beige, gold and brown on this geode captured the essence of the mineral world and show up nicely on metallic photo paper. I view this as the image of a mineral “brain” and then look at how the translucent layers inside lead up to the crystal grey matter inside. Lots of fun!
As they often do, when geodes are sliced, they sometimes actually have a hole in the center surrounded by the more clear to crystal portion of the inner workings of the rock. We caught all the detail in that and with the next image captured, the really nice layers of solid rock created a nice border with so many details around the center.
We don’t see too many of these specimens that have multiple cells inside of the opal translucent rock leading into the center crystal. Having the deep colors in the crust and all of the activity going on makes us wonder how this rock was created and spit out of the earth.
I have a few of these rocks that have unique color inside them that radiate out to the edges with such a thin crust. What attracted me to this rock was the deep golden amber inside as it gets lit from behind. Quite often, I set these on my window and just look at them during the day as the lighting changes, they take on many different appearances.
As I started to see more than just colorful rocks on my journey, some of them changed when held up to light, showing an inner detail of translucent colors & layers of minerals. These were hidden from us until the rocks were cut, sliced and polished. The layers now started adding a new depth and dimension to the images that were captured. I am looking forward to creating abstract images of these rocks with different layers and methods of printing them on various media, such as acrylic, metal and wood. As abstract art, these images lend themselves well to fabrics used in fashion, so the possibility of wearable art is starting to formulate as I coordinate this with others in the fashion design field.
Translucent Fantasy is probably one of the more colorful images, bordering on almost a tie-dye design, this rock had shifted color as the angle of light hit it. Deep inside these type of rocks related to Labrodite ( normally blue / green ) this image has a very wild dance of color and shape in its composition. As a fabric, this is quite attractive to wear. On the wall, it always keeps our attention.
Flight of the Phoenix is just a small portion of this rock was scanned at high resolution and the emergence of the clear spike coming out of the crusty pool of rock on the edge gave us the phoenix rising out of the igneous matter. Looking carefully in the upper left is the little discord. The layers of the background seem to be sort of what you might see in a nebula in outer space.
Sort of a match to the Phoenix, Cosmos has that same sort of out of world experience with foreground textures and the layers of deep out of focus images as you peer into the composition. We found the two little green chunks inside and brought them out. This one is great to look at on a wall with an open mind and imagination leads you many places.
Grey Ocean & Earth: As part of this series, most images had earthy browns and we were amazed at how nice the many shades of grey come to mimic an aerial view of the earth from above. The surrounding crust gives us a landmass to explore.
Ombre was a hard one to crop and to scan with the crystals in the middle, thus we had to layer this in several images to hold the details. Each time you look into the center, the golden brown envelope is quite soothing as it allows you to enter the inner sanctum of the rocks creation.
Edge of the Desert has some wild things going on within it. From the deepest black accents to the pure white waves of patterns, the various earth tones, yellows and a bright discord of orange / red bring it to life. As with most of my Crazy Lace agates, the Edge of the Desert brings out all the design elements to entice a viewer to picture many ways that nature can entertain with its various patterns, composition and design.
We have a few variations of Running Through The Forest in both tones and colors to entertain you with. I often see this as a horizontal image in two or three panels with many different subtle stories going on. A lot of the green resembles a forrest with animals or people running through it. The blues are nice to set off the various layers of green and giving the brown earth tones some balance as to design and color transition. This stone has so much going on that it is sure to capture one’s imagination and offer up many different stories to each person that views it in their own way.
Ivory Rose has many layers of pink, red, gray, white and beige, this lace agate kept unveiling new images and patterns for us to look at. Most anyone that has looked over this image comments upon its many different planes of color, texture and designs that have unfolded as they are looking at it. We have made several nice installations and various size compositions from Ivory Rose, as it fits well into most décor.
As with our other examples of this unique rock, the Brecciated Mookaite #2 is a very interesting study. With so much going on within this stone, we are still exploring our options. What I like about the textures of this stone, is that it almost represents an aerial view as you are looking down into the stones various crevice areas, in contrast to the larger planes of rock that seem to have narrow cracks and then move into deep fissures with wild things going on all in between the different plates and colors. The aspect of the stone breaking in a conchoidally pattern is what makes this so unique. Look for us to make some wild compositions with this rock!
In Silk Layers from the series of Crazy Lace Agate, we took this lighter, more neutral rock and found several interesting crops with the stone and its patterns. As a larger image, this is quite dynamic and you can wander around in the picture for hours looking at all the patterns. We also tiled the image into three panels and nine panels to create some different designs. The three panels make a nice vertical composition for a narrow wall. The layers of silk & white are quite pleasing.
Middle Earth Conflict is a very striking image to behold, as this stone has some deep reddish hues, black veins and this special discord of ivory patches thus creating conflict in the stone. One can imagine the natural forces in middle earth that brought about this dynamic contrast and palette of colorful design. Once you are drawn into this middle earth conflict, you start to find many designs and patterns that unfold to your eye and create an imaginary story.
This stone resembles a behemoth sea monster image that was often depicted in the Hebrew bible in the book of Job. As a natural stone, the patterns swirl and erupt out of the sea of textured rock, resembling ocean spray. As a dynamic force of nature, this stones unique patterns and prominent features challenge our perception of how nature can create these stunning unique designs.
Into The Wave is one of those that can be rotated to vertical or be used as a horizontal set of prints. It does nicely as a triptych with three panels to span a longer wall. In the case of the vertical, it is pretty wild to run it up a narrow wall. The stone has so much going on, it almost resembles one of the abstract paintings as it draws the view into the wave of patterns to the center and out to the various design groups on the edges and back into the image over and over. It has some nice tones and patterns that are accented by the red elements. A lot going on with this one and it will keep you busy for hours.
Marching forward in Procession's design are waves of patterns that appear to move forth in the stone, allowing your mind to subliminally create the picture, yet find a cavalcade of forms in this natural procession design made from the earths forces when the stone was formed. This composition allows the view an opportunity to let their imagination go in different waves of this stones many areas.
Looking into Aurora Borealis, I saw the layers of deeper shade of green, much like the Norther Lights, thus this is called AuroraBorealis as it mixes in blues, greens and they appeared to be raining down from the sky in sheets or layers above the patches of earth below them. Much like other stones in our collection, when blown up and displayed, they seem to draw you in and offer a soothing experience as you explore their inner beauty.
The lighter colors and soft tones in Soft Mix are quite soothing to look at. While having some dark underlaying color, this one has a bit more white and cream layers going on in different sections of the rock. The softer colors blending in the turquoise greens offer a milder transition allowing you to wander through it’s softly mixed landscape with an open mind and find details each time you visit the picture.
Forest Latte is a Dendritic Moss Agate specimen and has those fern-like black inclusions. This study has 3 crops that team up nicely to form a wall of very light, neutral tones, yet having some cool features with the little black patterns running through them. This mix of creamy white swirls above a gray pool contrasted by deeper beige and tan, gives the impression of a fern-like forrest in a fog of neutral tones. Again, as with most of these stones, you can look at them for hours and find new patterns that are quite amazing.
Frothy Mix has a solid base of earth tones with some nice turquoise green veins in the overall rock giving it a grounded earthy focus at the bottom. From there, the frothy mix of tan and blue seem to explode up into the air with it’s white spray of color that themes the creation of brown, blue, white, tan and green textures that are wild and challenge your imagination.
Although Pastel Plank is a rock, what caught my eye was how closely it resembled a plank of wood with all the grain, texture and wood like pattern. Very nice as a horizontal image, this also works well in vertical spaces. You can ponder the various knot hole detail or the smooth grain design while figuring out how the green & red tones / accents ended up in this amazing piece!
A View From Above has all sorts of activity going on with all the different areas, thus it reminds me of an “aerial view from above” looking down on several aqua green pools, icey white patches and a bunch of small tide pools all over the surrounding patches of textured rocks forming a surreal landscape. Lots to look at, lots for your imagination to consider, enjoy!
With the New Orleans Jazz musicians offering up an unlimited range of music, Jazz it Up also offers up a wild mix of Jazzy colors, textures and designs in it. Very fun to look at and wild enough to keep your mind busy looking for different shades, tones and textures. This stone renders a nice vertical image as well as horizontal, so will fit nicely on most any wall. I liked the green, ochre, tan and the rust colored spots set out by the cracks in this stone.
Brown & Green with Copper has great rock contrasts with robust deep brown tones, mixed with blacks, white quartz and then exploding with the green accents into the lighter portion of the rocks. With the white quartz throughout the stone, each layer is set off by another vein of green, rust, tan or black. What makes this one special is the inclusion of the copper that has been located in the brown layer, thus setting off the shiny metal against the darker brown. Another fun one to keep looking at for many different patterns and shapes!
Nature’s irony in Momba Mixer shows a canvas of deep brown color with veined textures of turquoise green setting the stage for an emerging figure in this natural setting. The fleshy figure with deep blue and black accents is coming out of the middle of this stone in a sort of momba like dance of color. Much like our Frothy Mix stone, this one has a completely different story and design coming out of the middle of a deep brown setting. I am always amazed at what each one of these stones holds in its natural composition. Momba has such a nice mix of color and the figure is just the beginning of the story.
Ammonites have always attracted my eye with their sections of fossilized growth. They closely resemble our modern days nautilus characteristics. These ammonites date back to the Jurassic, Triassic and Cretaceous periods prior to their extinction along with the dinosaurs many millions of years ago.
As the ammonites grew in the water, they added chambers in the spiral pattern and the oceans they lived in became fossil beds in which they were buried over time. It is interesting to look into the small beginning of each and to imagine how the creature lived and grew by adding new sections to its shell. Modern day geology allows us the opportunity to gather these in a variety of sizes and the most common method of display is to cut them in half to show the unique symmetry of the chamber patterns that are now filled with minerals and solid with an array of colors and textures.
One of the most interesting features of these specimens is the aspect of the outer shell having many colorful layers of a slightly pearlescent vibrancy. Thus some of my compositions will include both the inside, as well as the outside textures and colors to build a final image. This renders quite well on some of our custom fabrics and many of the installations of several panels.
Hard to believe that this group of predators in the ocean known as cephalopods existed many millions of years ago and have a modern relative in the nautilus that are living in our oceans today!
The god of the deepest, darkest part of the underworld, the Tartarean pit (which is referred to as Tartarus itself).
Ammonite with mix of inner cells or chambers that radiate out to formed, solid crystal cells. This specimen has alternating sediment chambers, with some hollow crystal chambers expanding out to more chambers with different types of sediment. The center of this ammonite is indicative of a more preferred specimens, in that you can see further into the small chambers with detail.
The goddess of day.
This ammonite has a more of a fuller or complete set of chambers, that have the hollow “ caves “ with crystals formed in them. The center of this specimen is somewhat lost with sediment filling the inner cells. Still, a very pleasing specimen that has a very unique style to it.
The goddesses of the islands and sea.
As with other specimens, this ammonite has a center disintegrated with sediment and no cell pattern. There is more smooth gray sediment in the outer cells. They then radiate out to a more uniform and nicely formed series of crystal caves and full chambers. These nicely formed crystals leave a more pleasing pattern & color.
God of Death. Brother to Hypnos (Sleep) and in some cases Moros (Doom)
Again, on this ammonite specimen, the center of the “nautilus” pattern is more filled with a dull gray sediment It then starts to inject the nice crystal patterns gradually as it goes out to the final areas of the chambers. I didn’t think that I would have liked these with sediment, but each of them has their own unique personality or fingerprint.
The god of the sea, father of the fish and other sea creatures.
A very nice ammonite specimen with the center details intact with tiny chambers being able to be viewed and close to perfect as they get. As this ammonite’s chambers radiate out, they have a very pleasing mix of solid crystal patterns with just a few anomalies of various sedimentary patterns in the fill. Probably one of my favorites to look at and explore.
The god of darkness and shadow.
With the signature amber inner chambers in this ammonite fossil, these now radiate out to start mixing with nice solid crystals in the cells. Then as they go further out, there are sediments in the outer chambers with a pleasing composition overall. Sort of neat how some of the early formed centers are trashed by the inclusion of sediment over time.
Personification of the sea and consort of Pontus.
This ammonite has a very nice rhythm; created by the uniformity of the chambers radiating out in the crystal cavern type cells, with very little inclusion of the sediment. Much similar to other specimens in the series. It is unique to this ammonite that the center has been occupied by the lighter color as it filled over the years.
The personification of nothingness from which all of existence sprang. Depicted as a void. Initially genderless, later on described as female.
I really didn’t think that this ammonite would keep my interest, but the variety of what is going on in all the chambers, rendered a very nice composition. As I started looking closer at the cells with sediment in them, they all had “waves” of fine patterns in them, that continued to entertain my viewing of the overall transition.
The god of love and attraction.
I probably liked this ammonite from the first time I saw it. With the unique reds and layered sand colored sediment that were mixed in with some deep amber crystal chambers. Overall, this specimen has so much going on with in the cells, there is always a new twist to see in each of the areas you look at. Another one of my favorites.
The god of empirical time, sometimes equated with Aion. Not to be confused with the Titan Cronus (Kronos), the father of Zeus.
Last, but not least is another fine ammonite with a variety of crystal chambers, green to gray sediment cells and a very perfect amber center. Everyone of these ammonites has a unique pattern to them and thus, always a different picture within the fossil. Once they are cut and polished, they render their true beauty for us to behold, and treasure as jewels from the earth in our collections.
