Bringing Outdoors In
For years I’ve collected pieces of the earth and brought them into our home. The piles of rocks that adorn my desk – salt-and-pepper flecked dacite, schist embedded with garnet, kryptonite-colored olivine – are testament to this rock hounding love (click on photos below to enlarge).
The community geology classes I took (and my nearly-a-geology-major in undergrad) further solidify this earthy love. Remember the geology class expeditions I shared to the Santa Catalinas and Tucson Mountains – and my introductory “don’t call me a rock-licker” post? Even though that was nearly six years ago, this love of the physical earth persists. My husband, always aware of my affinity for what looked like chunks of nondescript nothingness (I could find something pretty about nearly every rock), bought me a rock tumbler one Christmas.
And it sat. And sat. For years. Literally. Until – finally – I, with hubby’s help, took action this past holiday season (I confess, I was a bit intimidated by all the grinding powders and stages and patience required to tumble and polish rocks). Yet my goal had always been to bring pieces of the outdoors into our home … in a more organized and finely finished fashion than the existing pyramids of difficult-to-dust rocks haphazardly placed on our window ledges.
There’s something harmonious about marrying together the outdoors and inner living space, don’t you think? And so we tumbled some rocks with the intent of turning them into door pulls.
Um… That didn’t go so well, mostly because I didn’t know what I was doing. I had hubby whack away at some of the larger rocks I’d collected from our property, and we tossed them into the grinder in their varying angular shapes.
We quickly realized these uneven – though pretty- rocks weren’t going to make good door pulls. And hubby indicated that the capacity of our grinder wasn’t going to be large enough for the number of rocks we had to tumble.
So… I took the cheater’s way out – I Googled local businesses that did rock grinding and polishing work. The first company I contacted, Arizona Lapidary & Gem Rough, shared great news: they were working with an artist who specialized in door pulls (and they were ever-so-helpful and delightful to work with)!
As quickly as I could, I dropped these off, hoping I wouldn’t be laughed out of a store that displayed jaw-dropping precious stones and gems (my rock chunks paled in comparison). Click to enlarge.
Here I was, bringing in my nondescript granite (I believe they are biotite granite and hornblende biotite granite), which I thought/hoped had the potential to shine. It was important to me that they be directly from our property – a true piece of the land we call home.
And look what the amazingly talented artist, Jeff, was able to do! (Is my ‘hand off’ to a professional considered a complete cop out? I did make a half-dozen treks up a steep hill on our property to collect 30+ pounds of rocks that I thought would be just right.) Click on the photos below to enlarge so you can see Jeff’s cutting/hand-polishing artistry!
For Writers: I realized that I try to do the same thing with my fiction: I attempt to bring the outdoors in — onto the page and into the imagination of readers. Sharing nature’s sensory experience is important to me, and it’s something I look for in the fiction I read. Do you prefer to experience natural settings in the books you read or write? Is it important to story?
For Everyone: Do you try to physically bring pieces of the outdoors in? What are the advantages to doing so? In life, do you feel humans have lost their connection to the nature?
In Other News: Check out Hummie Cam. Eggs hatched on May 9 & 10. Babies should fledge around May 30/31.
May 15th, 2016 at 6:51 pm
Those door pulls are stunning!! To built a part of your surrounding natural environment into your home seems the perfect way to honor nature and where you live. After all, birds do it and beavers and spiders and…
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Melissa Crytzer Fry Reply:
May 15th, 2016 at 9:28 pm
What a fabulous point, Linda — a connection I’m embarrassed not to have made, especially given the nature (pun intended) of my blog! Thanks for compliments; I’m so thrilled with the final results of the door pulls!
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Karen Zarske Reply:
May 16th, 2016 at 2:02 pm
That’s serendipity, Melissa. Total beauty from “ordinary” rocks. Can’t wait to see those door pulls! Reminds me of how almost anything raw/ordinary has hidden beauty (even people).
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Melissa Crytzer Fry Reply:
May 17th, 2016 at 9:20 am
What a wonderful point, Karen! So poetically described. I love it! (Can’t wait for you to see, either).
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May 16th, 2016 at 5:57 am
beautiful and inspiring…..i am on a coquina collecting kick!! and making an oyster shell patio!
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Melissa Crytzer Fry Reply:
May 16th, 2016 at 11:44 am
Oh, wow. That sounds beautiful! I would love to see it when it’s done!
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May 16th, 2016 at 7:42 am
That it such a lovely idea ?..they look beautiful they truly do . I collect pebbles , and drift wood off the beach I’ve always got ideas for them ??
Cherryx
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Melissa Crytzer Fry Reply:
May 16th, 2016 at 11:45 am
Drift wood is so pretty! Do you have some craft projects in mind? And we already know I love pebbles!
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May 16th, 2016 at 8:05 am
Those pulls are absolutely stunning! I’ve never seen such a thing, and to know that you picked those rocks and they came from your property… that’s really a one-of-a-kind detail for your home. How very special. I agree they look like granite; did you ever find out for sure? Love the colors!
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Melissa Crytzer Fry Reply:
May 16th, 2016 at 11:46 am
Thanks for your enthusiasm, Annie. I love that there are no other drawer pulls like them anywhere, and that they are uniquely ours! While I am certain they are granite, I just wasn’t sure which type. Have a call out to my geology instructor to see if I’m right!
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May 16th, 2016 at 9:55 pm
Fancy making a book shelf out of driftwood…don’t ask . Pebbles are amazing have them everywhere in my house . Husbands said any more pebbles he is moving out …husbands come and go …now pebbles ?? ( only joking next year will be our 30th year of marriage ) so he’s still hanging on by a thread .
Cherryx
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Melissa Crytzer Fry Reply:
May 17th, 2016 at 9:21 am
Ooh – I hope you’ll share the driftwood bookshelf when you’re done! Heh heh – glad hubby is hanging by a thread, still (and congrats on 30 years. Wow!!!)
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May 17th, 2016 at 9:12 am
Wow – that is amazing! I absolutely love that you were able to use pieces of your land. I’m thinking of ways to do the same thing here (and, of course, I love to do it in my writing!). I was online shopping for fern prints when I realized we have dozens of native ferns growing on our property. I just have to learn how to press and display them properly.
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Melissa Crytzer Fry Reply:
May 17th, 2016 at 9:23 am
I think the fern idea is great! I wonder if you can dry them out and use them on a painted wall as well? I used “skeleton leaves” — dried out — and did a faux finish on a wall. Not sure if you could do the same with ferns or not? But I love the press/display aspect too. Show me when you’re done!!!
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May 19th, 2016 at 4:59 am
Oh MY – I didn’t expect that end product. Those door knobs are GORGEOUS. And what a great way to bring up the idea of setting and the outdoors in our writing. The most I bring of the outdoors into my home is flowers. LOTS of flowers. And herbs from my garden, like basil, which smells so great in the kitchen. In my writing, I believe that setting is crucial for a good book. As I tell my writing students – setting is an important character in anything you write.
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Melissa Crytzer Fry Reply:
May 21st, 2016 at 2:35 pm
Haven’t there been scientific studies about the calming effects of having flowers in your home? And I can imagine the herbs smell terrific! And I have to agree with you about setting as character; those tend to be my favorite books!
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May 23rd, 2016 at 4:04 am
How cool to see the process of your rocks becoming beautiful parts of your home. I always love your questions for writers and readers at the end.
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May 23rd, 2016 at 12:52 pm
This is so neat, Melissa! Sophie loves to collect random rocks. I love that you’ve incorporated them into your home. I’ve found that my fiction writing lately has included many natural aspects (weather, light, dark). I’m finding the outdoors can be a powerful force in telling a story.
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Melissa Crytzer Fry Reply:
May 25th, 2016 at 8:10 am
A future rockhound in the making; I like it (bet she’ll find some fun new stuff in Indiana)! Oh yes — nature is a great way to create mood/tension in writing!
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