Shaped Stones

The round shapes of stones began to become elongated into bullet like forms, I expressed them through etching, lino cuts, pastels and started to bind them with decorative wrappings of leather, lace and fabrics. They looked almost primitive and yet very mysterious. I enjoyed making them enormously and arranged them in pairs or groups.

Professor Peter Sutton from the SA Museum saw some finished art works of these forms and suggested to me that they reminded him of particular shaped stones in the collection. The  patterns and marks I had made were similar to the engravings and marks made on these   stones. He showed me some photographs of them, and it was remarkable to see the similarity. I was able to see some specimens in the museum, they were made of various stone and I became entranced with them. These shaped stones became the subject and the major interest for the following 2 years.

I applied to the University of SA to do a Master of Visual Art through the SA School of Art, on  shaped stones, writing a dissertation on their significance and exploring their potential as motifs in art, particularly printmaking.

A selection of unique state prints is incorporated within this web site, showing many and various approaches I took to exploit my experimental methods. The prints have been admired for their unusual textures and colours but more often for their mystery.