REFLECTIONS FROM THE PONDAs we gaze into the pond and past our own reflections we see beyond ourselves and into what nature has shaped over the millennia. To take a piece of that and make it our own is a very powerful thing; we are constantly in connection with nature even if we don’t acknowledge it in our modern world. We are ultimately nature ourselves; only much more arrogant considering the time we have here to influence our surroundings. I have put a face on these stones to show the spirit that resides in everything on this huge stone we call earth. I hope these pieces will help you to see the spirit within, and without the distracting reflections of ourselves.These pieces are created out of ordinary river rocks that I handpicked at the rock quarry. I take a spray bottle of water and reveal the colors and textures of the rock and pick the ones I like. I then study the surfaces and decide where a face might work. I take a hand-held angle grinder with a 4 ½” diamond demo blade and carefully remove just enough stone to reveal the face in the surface of the stone leaving the rest of the stone intact. Once the shape is clear I then start the polishing process. For this I use a small air sander with 3” diamond-impregnated rubber polishing discs and a garden hose I have rigged up to my sander. The polishing process is all done wet, it makes quite a mess. I start with a 100 grit disc then a 200 grit, a 400 grit, an 800 grit, a 1000 grit, a 1500 grit, a 3000 grit, and finally a finishing buffer disc. My arm is sore just listing the steps. The final finish is the raw stone polished. There are no coatings or anything to change the appearance of the stone. It is what it has always been, it just shines now. This is what I see when I look beyond the surface of the stone. -- Don Kenworthy |
