A new stone . . .

This is the other half of that slab of orange alabaster that I ordered early in the year. It will be the fifth piece in the Mandala series. No specific plans yet; I'll just wait and see what the stone presents - which is my favorite way of working anyway.

"Vision of Ra" - completed

My newest stone is now finished and mounted. It's from the Utah Alabaster boulder I received during the winter, and its promised translucency has finally shown itself. During the process, I struggled with the idea of leaving some parts unfinished.

 Here are some comments and suggestions I received from friends about that: "YES! Leave the rough spots. There is something about seeing the raw that makes the finished seem even more polished. It adds the depth of TIME to the piece"; "The roughness speaks volumes to me. We seek completion — a "unified field theory of me" kind of existence. Yet in this realm, there are always parts that don't blend, that unfinished, primal self that sticks to our "polished" selves"; "I’m voting for leaving the rough edges on the piece. I like the contrast of hard/smooth & rough. Don't we all have some rough edges? Ha!"

 So, thanks to all of you - it was unanimous, so "Vision of Ra" has some rough edges - just like ME. The in situ pics show the translucency, but the studio photo on the right is the more color accurate.