Thread: Gem sculpture

Along with Evolutionary modeling, gem sculpture is another way that I like to express my connection to nature, here are a few examples of my work.


Fish In Moss Agate took two years to carve from a bolder of Montana moss agate using small water cooled diamond tools.






Fish In Moss Agate



Bison In Ruby " Prairie Demon "



Bison In Jade




Baby Dragon In Ruby
Toad In Ruby



Jade Frogs
Tree Frog Ruby In Zoisite {Insitu}




Bison In Dream Stone

MISSOURI DREAMSTONE is found only one place among the Precambrian knobs of the St. Francis mountain uplift in the Eastern Ozarks of Missouri.




Photo shop; Fish in Moss Agate


Its also a good way to understand morphology on a level of evolution of form and function.
I started with fish and worked up though amphibians and reptiles, mammals and then birds.
I haven’t done the human form as of yet.

Regretably only the bison was visible to me. This is the first time any of your posts have made sense to me Metatron. This is beautiful work. If you could express yourself with the same clarity and conviction in words perhaps I would not have lambasted you so frequently.

Wow, Metatron, you have some talent! Beautiful work. Post more of your art please.

First time I have seen a baby dragon like that. My favorite.

You can express yourself very well with your great creative ability so that those who see your beautiful workmanship will understand what is in your heart as well as your mind. I enjoy viewing your most excellant works, thanks for posting images of them and keep up the great work. 8)

Originally Posted by Ophiolite

Regretably only the bison was visible to me. This is the first time any of your posts have made sense to me Metatron. This is beautiful work. If you could express yourself with the same clarity and conviction in words perhaps I would not have lambasted you so frequently.

Glad you like it
I knew you had to have a soft spot, Art

If your still having trouble with the images try here;

http://www.arn.org/ubb/ultimatebb.ph...02325/p/2.html

Originally Posted by silylene

Wow, Metatron, you have some talent! Beautiful work. Post more of your art please.

First time I have seen a baby dragon like that. My favorite.

Thank's silylene,
I try to utilize each gemstone's character in the subject in the case of "Baby Dragon in Ruby" I cut it to accent the layered crystal structure and calcite veining to achieve the look of scales, spines and muscle.
The black and green splotches on the dragon and toad are embedded mica and zoistite.

Originally Posted by cosmictraveler

You can express yourself very well with your great creative ability so that those who see your beautiful workmanship will understand what is in your heart as well as your mind. I enjoy viewing your most excellant works, thanks for posting images of them and keep up the great work. 8)

Thank's cosmictraveler,

Most of these pieces where inspired by encounters with the subjects themselves however The fish was inspired by this, my favorite poem.



You ask me what the lobster is weaving down there,

with its golden feet,

I tell you, the ocean knows this.

You say who is the acedia waiting for
in its transparent bell.

I tell you its waiting for time, like you.

You say who does the macrocystis algae hug in its

arms? Study it. Study it at a certain hour in a certain sea I know.

You question me about the wicked tusk of the narwhale,

and I respond by describing to you how the sea unicorn,

with a harpoon in it, dies.

You inquire about the kingfisher's feathers
which tremble in the purest springs of the southern shores.

I want to tell you that the ocean knows this,
That life, in its jewel boxes, as endless as the sand,
impossible to count, pure

And the time among the blood colored grapes
has made the petal hard and shiny,

filled the jellyfish with light, untied its knot, letting its musical threads fall,

from a horn of plenty made of infinite mother of pearl.

I'm nothing but the empty net which has gone on ahead of human eyes,

dead in the darkness', of fingers accustomed to the triangle,

longitudes in the timid globe of an orange.

I walked around like you investigating the endless star,

And in my net during the night I woke up naked.

The only thing caught, a fish, trapped inside the wind.

- 'The Enigmas'

by Pablo Neruda

How big are these carvings? I can't get a sense of scale. Maybe post a picture next to a ruler?

Also post a closeup of the dragon please - I'd like to see more of the detail you mention. It is my favorite (the fish in the agate is close second), and thanks for the description!

Originally Posted by silylene

How big are these carvings? I can't get a sense of scale. Maybe post a picture next to a ruler?

Also post a closeup of the dragon please - I'd like to see more of the detail you mention. It is my favorite (the fish in the agate is close second), and thanks for the description!

Most of the carvings are about 6'' to 7'' inch's except for the Bison in Dreamstone at about 11'' this carving was donated to an anual charity auction held at a local bison ranch. The dragon was sold recently, it was about 5'' long.

Did you notice the "Ruby tree frog" this is an insitu carving. In this type of carving the gemstone remains embedded within its natural matrix, in this case bright green zoisite carved into a bush.

-----------------------------------------------
What is Missouri Dreamstone?

“ALTERED” DENSE-ALGAL-LAMINATE-DOLOMITE

Fossil Algae


http://www.missouridreamstone.com/


The above bead work is by the discoverer Mark Hadley

DREAMSTONE is 5 on Moh's hardness scale, significantly harder than unaltered dolomite. The area of metamorphism is a couple acres in size. It may be from local hydrothermal activity millions of years ago. Away from the site, the bedrock is grey dolostone with normal 3.5 hardness.

Is a drawing of the underground geology that possibly exists at the site. Click on the Cross Section Icon.

"This stone was in my backyard. I walked over it for 31 years. I had no idea it was there until I saw myself digging rocks there in a dream. I discovered it the next morning, in January 1998." Mark Hadley

Special thanks to the Missouri Geological Survey for their help identifying this new rock.

Mark and I are both lapidaries belonging to the same rock and gem club.

Metatron,
Goog stuff

How do put the images in the reply?
thanks