Like many people, I have always collected stones. They are so satisfying – so ubiquitous, so varied, so abundant, so comforting to hold or find lying around the house. Whether on the rocky coast of Maine or a sandy beach in California, I cannot help but fill my pockets. Wandering near the water’s edge and picking up whatever catches my eye is the greatest antidote to daily stress I know. Whether it’s a lucky stone with a ring around it, a perfect egg, or a heart-shaped rock,the joy in the finding is simple and profound: treasure.
This book presents about two hundred stones from beaches around the world. Many of the stones here are my own and the writer’s, but others have been shared by friends far and wide. It is by no means a definitive collection. The beauty of beach stones is that there is no definitive collection; there are always more-fantastic specimens to gather from the shore.
As photographer, I get to really look at all the stones whose images I capture, watching as the individual pebbles reveal, in nuanced detail, their unique physical presence. I fall in love with each one. I feel privileged to listen as the stones quietly speak of where they come from and the world they inhabit. They dictate their own design, determining what shapes and forms the images will take, what sequences they should follow. The designs that emerge are a language of sorts, hieroglyphs of pure form.
About ten years ago, the urge to place objects directly on my flatbed scanner resulted in my near abandonment of the actual camera. I scanned everything around me: shoes, toast, dryer lint, watermelon, and, of course, stones. This technique allowed me both a spontaneity in examining these objects and a level of depth and detail I couldn’t achieve with the camera. I was hooked and now generate images exclusively with my scanner.
Choosing a stone is a mark-making act, a small bit of artistry in collaboration with nature. I must thank all the artists who shared their stones for this project: John Rafkin and his three children, Cathy and Ben Iselin, Margot Herrera, Jori Hook, Linda Davidson, Joanne Dames, Lisa Gross, Jim and Kate Stickley, Susan Scheer, Alison Porter, Dick Graybill, Caroline Herter, Carolyn Rebbert, Bill Minark, Steve Shaver, Brian Upton, Steve and Beverly Howells, and Richard Ash.
As I wrapped and unwrapped their stones, worried sick I might lose a tiny pebble, I realized that these stones, although of no monetary value, are as precious as family heirlooms. They are the chosen ones, destined to sit in clusters on the mantel or in a jar over the sink, to be held every once in a while for a closer listen to their whispered revelations.
JLI, January 2006
