Yellowstone River Stone

A stone is a rock that has been fashioned or shaped or has a purpose.

Montana's diverse geology, shaped by ancient sea basins, mountain-building events, and volcanic activity, results in a wide array of interesting rocks, including limestone, sandstone, gneiss, and igneous rocks, making it a geologically rich state, with areas like the Yellowstone region experiencing hot springs and volcanic features, as well as evidence of past volcanic eruptions and magma intrusions. Metamorphic, sedimentary, volcanic and igneous rocks as well as agates, precious and petrified stones are carried downstream on the currents of Yellowstone River.

The Yellowstone River Stones series of paintings and collages weaves together the geological history of Montana with the personal experience of rafting and rockhounding on the Yellowstone River near Livingston, MT. The act of rockhounding on the river dramatically shaped this collection of work and my view of the landscape and the natural forces at play. The dynamic patterned rocks tell the geological story of the past as well as the present transformation of the Greater Yellowstone region. Holding a stone in my hand that was once a part of a landscape feature miles away demonstrates that landscapes are not static. They are in flux continuously adapting to changes in weather, seasons and climatic events as well as mutating in form from gas to rock to dust to air. Nothing in the collection of rocks more transformed than part of an ancient redwood tree petrified into stone 50 million years ago after the last volcanic eruption in Yellowstone.

These beautiful rocks have found a new purpose as their material form and history have been transformed into paintings and collages, linking the natural world with an artistic interpretation to suggest new ways of viewing the many complex layers to the natural world around you.