Blog & Articles
The Living in Unlikely Places
Naturally formed objects above and below the earth led me to a fascination with petrified wood. Gigantic trees plunged into the earth, starved of oxygen and buried in total darkness for over 200 million years almost magically turns wood into stone. Read More
Historic Stone Carving Brings Mentoring To Life
In 1970, a silver mine in Mexico released a 70-pound piece of turquoise from the earth, and a talented stone carver saw its future. Read More
Stone Design and ‘Earthing’ Décor
Finally, meditation rooms are demanding space on blueprints. A dynamic leader in “calm” design, Meichi Peng focuses on areas specifically for rejuvenation. Stone is an essential ingredient found in most of her peaceful spaces. Read More
Forest of Tranquility
While picking through heaps of geological wonders for a recent project, I came across a collection of petrified wood. From the Greek root meaning, literally, “wood turned into stone,” this is a plant that fossilizes in the Earth. Without oxygen, the wood is replaced...
Celebrating Earth Day!
During one of my recent stone buying trips, my guide took a hard left off the trail, promising something wonderful awaited us. Hiking in the middle of nowhere, my human interaction with prehistoric footprints was about to merge. Unknown to me, dinosaur tracks are the...
When You Set Your Art Free
You can’t be a stone designer and not know Michelangelo’s quote: “I saw the angel in the marble and carved until I set him free.” This happened when master stone carvers Gerd and Patrick Dreher carved a piece of tourmaline into a gorgeous stone toad in...
A Natural Stone’s Spell
Passion for geological wonders has forced man to dig into the earth, searching for prehistoric treasures. We’re fueled by courage, guided by flickering light, and we’ll often risk it all to extract precious stones. Read More
January: National Mentoring Month
January marks National Mentoring Month, and the incomparable Patti Austin and Over My Shoulder Foundation Executive Director Dawn Carroll share these tips for creating successful mentoring relationships. They mentor one another and firmly believe in the mentoring...
A Mentor’s Magic
“You can have a lot of talent, but success will only be because of your mentors.” I fondly remember what my mentor, Grammy Award winning Patti Austin, once told me. Before I found Patti, I was, almost unconsciously, searching for someone to guide me through life. My...
My Mentors and Me
Words cannot explain the level of euphoria I felt the other night, when I heard the first live note of my favorite artist ever, Doyle Bramhall II. For the past 20 years, I have been waiting and cheering for Doyle to reemerge, refocus, and deliver a supersonic solo...
The Bicentennial Man: Henry David Thoreau
Martha’s Vineyard shore “Wherever there is beauty, you will find a home,” those words, bestowed upon me by a close friend in my childhood, struck the depths of my soul. Hailing from a quaint home in Lincoln, MA, I developed a deep connection to nature in my ongoing...
A Song, A dream, A mentor…
The Transition of Wilbert I almost didn’t notice him, the man leaning against the wall like a piece of abstract art, alone in the hallway, his eyes were closed, deep in meditation. He was older, draped in a black sweat suit and sports cap. He seemed mysteriously out...