Be prepared

'Wish Rock' brooch 2x1.5" sterling silver, mica, 

graphite, paper; Kathleen Faulkner

 It's always good to have a wish rock or two 

hanging around.

I keep several. 

You never know 

when you might need one.

Bone food

Earrings; sterling and fine silver, calcite; Kathleen Faulkner

Once upon a time, while hiking up in the northern New Mexico mountains,  we came upon an old calcite mine.  It had been closed for years but the rock was scattered everywhere.  The sun, filtering through the trees, and a slight breeze made those rocks sparkle.

I felt like I was in a dream as I sat on the ground picking up pieces of rock.  The day, the sun, the smells of pine and pinion.. and all these beautiful stones sparkling like diamonds..

Calcite comes from the shells of dead marine organisms.  That means that at one time, long ago, that area in Northern New Mexico was ocean.  

Many things have come from those bones of the dead:  cement, limestone, marble, medicines, fertilizer and the most amazing of all:  lenses.  The now extinct trilobite used clear calcite crystals to form the lenses of their eyes.  

All that and more from shells.  

Imagine what we haven't discovered yet..  

what we don't know..

Fun Facts

For those of you who feel yourselves stuck between a rock and a hard place:

'Rocks' 36x9" oil pastel;
Kathleen Faulkner

walking along West Beach listening to the waves tumbling the rocks in the surf

it is all constant movement 

nothing stays the same.

A Fairy Tale

It's Spring and I'm starting to think about a hike in the North Cascades. This winter was one long artwork.  I produced a lot of work and it's been an inspired year that continues still.  

Right now, though,  I'm feeling the need to move and I've been on the lookout for a good pair of hiking shoes,  shoes that can become 'one with the rocks'.

I haven't been able to find anything suitable so 

I decided to make them.  

"Rock Climbers" shoes, rocks, copper, Kathleen Faulkner