Gem Rough

The spectrum of colour to be found throughout the gem and mineral kingdom is truly astounding, endlessly captivating and I believe knows no bounds. There is something that deeply resonates within our being and goes back a long, long way in time to when maybe an ancestor first picked up a pretty pebble from a stream and decided to take it with them on the long journey forwards. I personally like and appreciate the rawness of their diverse forms, some shaped by their own crystalline DNA, others by rough prolonged exposure to the forces of nature and weather. I love the way colour can glow and fill a stone so completely and hints at the sleeping invisible heart within.

This page is dedicated to showing the beauty of gemstones in their raw forms. In a way I wanted to have a record of their beforeness before they are worked and polished into gems and carvings. When I handle a stone with a view to potentially working it into something else, I don’t take that lightly. Perhaps it is a quirk of mine but I believe stones are deserving of great respect and consideration for many reasons.  Perhaps first and foremost is the fact that these stones are ancient, for some of them their ages are measured in aeons while others are relatively newborn perhaps only back in the time of dinosaurs and volcanoes. Sometimes, when conditions, environments and elements align in certain particularly rare or utterly unique and just-right combinations, some stones and crystals can literally be formed overnight while others may take 10,000 years to grow but an inch.

This means I am aware that a particular stone has survived all that time and innumerable unimaginable events and circumstances to end up here now in my hands. To me this is an honour and privilege and if I am to act upon the stone I want to do so with full awareness and all the skill I have and to do the best I can. I do not want to waste the stone or treat it flippantly. How we treat and value such things is a reflection of something within ourselves… within myself.

The stones shown here are potentially available for custom orders providing of course that they haven’t already been worked or earmarked for another project. This is just a very small selection of the rough stones I have available to choose from and as time permits I’ll be adding more to this gallery. If you are interested in commissioning something please contact me.