Faces

The stones that are featured here are the result of a lot of walking up-and-down our fields, usually in spring before or just after the crops are planted and have come up through the ground. No digging is involved; the stones are just ones that I've found on the surface of the field although every year seems to turn up new ones.

I can't explain the process except to say that something will catch my eye and I'll pick it up. Often, I won't know what I've found until I've taken it home and examined it more closely. To some extent, it's an intuitive process, but the more time I devote to this search, the better my eye gets at spotting them. This is not to say that I always get it right. Sometimes, I'll lug a rock home in my bag and then, discover that it's just an ordinary stone.

Here are two examples that seem to be more than that:

I have no idea what prompted me to pick this one up. It's very small and from most angles, it just looks like an ordinary stone. Even now that I know what it is, I have to turn and turn it to find the hidden image.

 

As you can see, it looks very much like a face. The eyes, nose and mouth are very clear and

remind me of a Neanderthal.

 

 

On the other hand, the stone below jumped out at me as soon as I looked down at my feet. I always hope to come across one spectacular find when I go out. On that particular day, this was it.

 

 

I think of this one as a mask not unlike the comedy and tragedy masks that are used to symbolize the theatre. It looks as if there is a piece broken off at the bottom where the mouth is. When you turn it over and on its side, it looks like the head of a dog or a bird.

 

 

 

To me, it makes sense that ancient man might have carved images of faces. After all, that's one of the first images that we, as children, draw with our crayons.