Find Direction and Balance with the Stacking of Stones into Rock Caiirns

 Balanced stones can be found through out nature where just the right elements of wind and water leave a stone or boulder in a state of balance.  These stones are so intriguing that many people have taken to balancing stones as artistic expression.  

Check out his site Gravity Glue

Michael Grab of Colorado stacks stones using nothing but gravity. Just like in life if he tries to force the balance point, the rocks tumble to the ground.  Balance requires trusting nature and being willing to let go of control.

The balancing of rocks into cairns has been used for centuries as directional markers.  When hiking in the Cascades the trail can often be across rocky terrain.  Cairns are built by fellow hikers to help show the direction to follow.  So cairns show us the way home, a path to follow and help us connect to the earth. 

Om rock cairn by janeojewelry

I love cairns and spend time stacking stones whenever I am camping along a river.  I also love the beach and find my coat pockets full of rocks after a visit to the coast. I have combined these two loves into a  piece of zen jewelry.     

I stack and balance the stones I have gathered on my bench and drill them the way they naturally want to balance.  I listen to kirtan music and the chanting helps me find my own inner place of balance where I am both connected like the stone and flowing like the sea. The stones spin on the wire and can also be used as a contemplative device.

 Om is believed to be the vibration of creation so I call my line of beach stone jewelry Om Rock Beach Stones.   These are an earth friendly product as the rocks are a gift from the sea and the metals are either bench scraps or recycled copper flashing..

                                                            

 

The Nowhere Land of Lost Items

Necklace that is currently being worn by Mrs. Selby

Ever wondered where all the paper clips and rubber bands end up?   When I was young I loved the book The Borrowers.  Little people who live in your house and take items for their own use.  If I could find the Borrower's hiding hole,  I could quit searching for this necklace. I photographed it to list on the web and then it disappeared.  All my other items made it back to my  shop no problem. 

When I was little my grandmother would blame her neighbor for items she misplaced.   She would go to get a can of tuna for lunch and when it was gone would say "That Mrs. Selby has been over here again."  Mrs. Selby was her neighbor, a working woman, and I don't think I ever saw her at home. I remember wondering why my grandmother didn't call the police if her neighbor was coming in her house.

Well, I can tell you even though I live a couple hundred miles away , "Mrs. Selby"  manages to make it down here and steal from me as well.  So far an axe has gone missing from the front porch, numerous shovels, my clippers, earrings galore, and now this necklace.  Sometimes Mrs. Selby even sneaks back and puts what I am looking for right in plain sight.


Really, why is it you can look for something and not see it .  I like to think it bleeps over into another dimension  for a while then comes back into the 3rd Dimension.  In the meantime, I made another Om Rock necklace to list.  This time it didn't leave my shop when I was taking pictures.  Hopefully someday the original necklace will bleep back into my shop. Or better yet, someone will admire "Mrs. Selby's" necklace and she will refer them to my site.