A few years ago Jesper and I helped my parents move from one rental to the next. Among the usual boxes of photographs, packed Christmas decorations and family furniture, we moved buckets of stone. In fact we moved 2 tons of stone, one orange bucket at a time, into the new rental home where my dad would continue his lapidary work in Bend, Oregon.
2 tons of rock inside many orange buckets
Thousands of slabs tucked away into shelves and drawers
Works in progress
Hundreds of beautiful pieces of art. The one on the left is a completed piece of Deschutes Jasper, and the one on the right is in progress.
Dad covered in oil - Keeping the machines tidy for Lapidary work requires getting your hands dirty from time to time.
Owayee Jasper in the hands of Wilson Wewa - Made by my dad.
Wilson Wewa was so kind as to let me record an audio telling of the Smith Rock / Animal Village creation story. I value this experience, and I don’t think I’ll ever view Smith Rock the same. At the end of our recording, I asked to take his photograph. He then asked me the name of my Great Grandmother - Isabel Saunders. To my surprise, he’d known her. He’d also known my Grandmother, Wilma. He spoke in depth of the skill and artistry of Isabel’s beadwork, and then he left. It was the first time in my life I’d ever spoken to anyone - aside from my parents - who’d known them.
