My husband and I spend many hours outdoors camping and hiking. Over the years we have picked up interesting rocks and hauled them home not knowing what to do with them.

When we retired to southwestern United States, our interests coalesced into practical and artistic expressions. We joined a gem and mineral club and started learning about the stones we admired.

Then came the purchase of lapidary tools that we would need and we started making cabochons with our rocks. Cabochons, cabochons everywhere…what to do with them was the challenge. We decided to wire-wrap them and make bead necklaces to complement the stones.

For about one half of our stones we have the adventure of going into the field with friends, rough tent camping and collecting the specimens that eventually become one of our necklaces. The rest of the slabs and rocks we buy at gem and mineral shows.

I can't pass a flower without admiring its beauty and since it isn't wise to pick them in the wild I started to photograph them.   My photography focused on the "eye" of the flowers, and I began self publishing my pictures.

We find the outdoor environment is full of beauty and amazing patterns, whether in insects, plants or stones. We hope you enjoy looking at our stones and flowers.