Giraffes and Sports Cars

For some time Lyle has been asked this question:  “What are you planning to do when you retire?” Without missing a beat, Lyle responds with this explanation: “Artists donʼt really retire -as in leaving a place of employment or scaling back a business- rather, genuine artists like Picasso or some one of that ilk never actually leave the creative realm, they just keep reinventing themselves so that they can rediscover new innovative frontiers.” Certainly Lyle has scaled back from working on so many projects. He has traded his studio time for more outdoor recreational activities, keeping his body fit and driving his luxury sports car to bucolic spots around the West Coast. 

While taking in some of these enjoyable past times, his passion for creating something extraordinary in gemstones has continued to flourish. Only now at this juncture in his career he is only accepting commissions that elicit an enduring sense of fun, poignancy and originality. The above image of Lyle working on his Noahʼs Arc illustrates his newest commission. Shows him sanding the arc form. The slats of the floorboards for this arc are constructed from Tiger’s Eye Gemstone. Tiger’s Eye is a composite of iron and quartz crystal. The rough stone comes in slabs that are about 3 inches in length and 2 inches in depth. Each section has to be fitted and fastened into making longer plank boards. Tiger’s Eye is exceptionally hard and requires labourious precutting and sanding techniques to reach an ideal surface. For both Lyle and his apprentice son, Kurtis, the pay off happens during the polishing process. When windows of brilliant golden hues show through the rough surface of the stone. 

While taking in some of these enjoyable past times, Lyleʼs passion for creating something extraordinary in gemstones has continued to flourish. Only now at this juncture in his career he is only accepting commissions that elicit an enduring sense of fun, poignancy and originality. The above image of Lyle working on his Noahʼs Arc illustrates his newest commission. Showing him sand the arc form. The slats of the floorboards for this arc are constructed from Tiger’s Eye Gemstone. Tiger’s Eye is a composite of iron and quartz crystal. The rough stone comes in slabs that are about 3 inches in length and 2 inches in depth. Each section has to be fitted and fastened into making longer plank boards. Tiger’s Eye is exceptionally hard and requires laborious pre-cutting and sanding techniques to reach an ideal surface lustre. 

The first animal to be installed into the Arc will be a pair of Giraffes. If you recall the Arc with Noah and the animals -biblical legend. The Giraffe reaches out of the Arc to greet a dove flying overhead the vessel. In the beak of the dove is an olive branch -a Symbolic gesture to welcome the passengers of the arc and let them know there will be peace in the land they will soon be disembarking upon.  The gemstone Lyle has selected for Noah is a striking dark eggplant amethyst or a crystal-clear blue turquoise.  These gems have not yet been determined. The first Giraffe is nearly finished. It is created from a species of Jasper known as Mook Jasper from Australia. The word Jasper is a Greek word that means - spotted. Quite fitting to this kind of subject - Mook has the following properties - facilitates invigorating energy and a deep connection with Nature.   

Stay tuned on Social Media - as we add more passengers.

All My Best,