"Two Turtles" Photograph

The Story of the "Two Turtles"  "Bella & Frankie” each weigh between 40-64 lbs Stone.   Turtle Bella is the very first stone I sculpted and was done as a gift. Now she radiates her likeness in Hawaii in the home of a very dear friend as her private art collection! As the story goes:I was inspired to sculpt “Bella” because of a young boy namedCameron.I met Cameron when I was living in Washington state on the east side of the Cascades Mountains along the beautiful Columbia River. It was a chilly day and I was enjoying skipping rocks into the river when this young boy came up to me and started talking to me about the many different kinds of rocks there are. He had been listening to me toss the rocks into the river. He went on to tell me that he was a stone sculptor at the blind school he attended in Oregon. He said that the Nuns at the school told him that he was a naturally gifted sculpture artist and that he loved doing it. He also told me that his Dad had taught him how to make beautiful fly fishing flies. So as we were walking by the river, it seemed that we talked about everything on the planet. He was interested in everything and fascinated by everything that the world had to offer. By the end of our walk, he began to tell me that he had a large rock at his Mom's house and that he wanted to sculpt a sea turtle for her so that she would remember him always. All at once, he got very excited and began to ask "Daniel, Daniel, Daniel(aka) Rockos. Would You Help Me Carve a Sea turtle for my Mom?"(now remember that I had just met Cameron and at this point, we had only been talking for an hour or so and although I had done many things in my life, I had never given any thought to sculpting stone.)Cameron spoke with a serious speech impediment so I had to listen very carefully to him to understand what he was saying. And he talked incessantly. I learned later that Cameron suffers from Battons disease which took his sight at age 6 and continues to attack his chromosomes, breaking down his body little by little, year after year. This disease usually terminates its victims between the age of 18 to 23, and he was now 15. He became more insistent. “Daniel, Daniel, Daniel, I know we can do it!”...... and I just laughed. Cameron told me he had a small toolbox at home with sculpting tools init. ''When can you come over so we get started?", he said. I tried to forget his request and shrug it off, but I found myself so taken by his enthusiasm that within few days I found myself at Cameron’s Mom's house and Cameron was already out in the back yard waiting for me. He had his safety goggles on and he was ready to sculpt.“Bella” took about 31/2- months to complete and when Cameron was not in school he made sure he was right at my side “helping” and talking—mostly talking— every chance he had. You can see Cameron had a skillful hand at sculpting “Bella”. So when the turtle was finally finished I asked Cameron what he wanted to write on the bottom of the turtle we had made for his Mom, and he said, Merry Xmas, Mom —2006 Love, Cameron. Now that I have physically moved away from Washington state I find that I miss Cameron too much. He brought joy and love into my life as I had never known before. He could see things that I couldn’t see. He felt passions far beyond his years and his enthusiasm was boundless. He felt nothing was impossible. (The Heavens will love Cam.)I’d like to take a moment to thank my dear friend, Cameron, for introducing me to this wonderful gift — God has handed me. If it would have not been for meeting you, Cameron, I believe I would have continued to live my life on automatic— in a sort of quiet desperation mode— just doing and going, doing and going, without ever savoring the delicious treats that come from designing art and taking risks and spending hours in detailed back-breaking labor that stone sculpting is. Cameron, how brilliant you are beyond your years, and how much you can see although you have no sight. You are a gift to the universe and how lucky I am to have known you. Cameron would call me almost every day and when I moved from Washington state, we stayed in touch on the phone until he could no longer speak with any clarity and be understood. Oh, how he loved to talk. He was the one that gave me my nickname, "Rockos". Cameron would often say “God works” in many ways! (the good Catholic boy he is) Thank you, Cameron, for your insistence and your courage, I will think of you always,  Love!  Rockos   P.S. Frankie is just Frankie a loveable land turtle that was a real joy to sculpt ... He now lives with an art collector in California. **Since I have sculpted these turtles, I have become aware of how much love many people hold for turtles.

Photography:Stone on Stone

Original:One-of-a-kind Artwork

Size:30 W x 30 H x 0.1 D in

Delivery Time:Typically 5-7 business days for domestic shipments, 10-14 business days for international shipments.