Chris Sikk
having dreams about rocks
Member since September 2021
Posts: 73
|
Post by Chris Sikk on Sept 8, 2021 12:49:04 GMT -5
Yo!
My name is Chris and a few years ago I had a bit of a breakdown and wanted to end my life. I have been doing groups, therapy, and courses like CBT, but what really helps me is creating. I have finally started to understand that phrase about enjoying the process not the final product. Creating art is when I feel most as myself. However, I have spent 40+ years living in shame and self-disgust. So, it is not all that easy to remember that making art is actually good for me.
I started finding petrified wood along the river in the last 2 years. I have always had a fascination with rocks, but that is when I started doing it as a hobby. Taking the time to walk slowly and enjoy the landscape as I look for possible stones that speak to me is rejuvenating. At some point, I found a rock, likely just hardened clay or mud, that was super smooth and concave. This gave me the idea to make worry stones. As I fiddled with melting an under-powered rotary tool, a relative gave me an old rock tumbler. So, I started trying things and now I am looking to learn more.
At the moment, I have a small Thumler that I was gifted and I just purchased a Lortone 33B after finding this site in a duck duck go search and reading that it was recommended by so many people.
I hope to be helpful, but it may not be in the area of tumbling, yet. I do watercolor, graphic design, podcast, and I continue to volunteer in mental health and do some training in that area. Do not hesitate to hit me up if you want to chat.
|
|
|
Post by MsAli on Sept 8, 2021 13:29:16 GMT -5
1st of all welcome! 2nd of all thank you for opening up and being honest and vulnerable. Looking forward to seeing your work
|
|
|
Post by rockjunquie on Sept 8, 2021 13:54:36 GMT -5
Welcome from Virginia!
Great introduction. Sounds like you found your muse. Be careful though, it can easily and likely become an addiction.
|
|
|
Post by Peruano on Sept 8, 2021 14:46:43 GMT -5
Welcome. Rocks are tactile and visual. I distribute thumb stones to special people and they are almost always warmly appreciated. What region are you located in?
|
|
|
Post by hummingbirdstones on Sept 8, 2021 17:48:55 GMT -5
Thank you for your intro. You've found a great group of folks who share your love creating. This community is very giving, so jump in and have fun. Like Tela rockjunquie sida, though, be careful -- it's very easy to jump down the rabbit hole.
|
|
|
Post by jasoninsd on Sept 8, 2021 18:49:59 GMT -5
Welcome to the forum from South Dakota! Thank you for opening up in a great introduction. When I'm out hounding, one of my favorite things to find is a natural "worry stone". I'll pick it up and catch myself 20 minutes later with it still in my hand...not realizing I'd been rubbing it the whole time.
|
|
|
Post by amygdule on Sept 8, 2021 22:54:49 GMT -5
Welcome to the Forum,
Hunting Rocks and Taking pictures of them is Therapy for me
|
|
|
Post by Rockoonz on Sept 8, 2021 23:26:42 GMT -5
We have an old friend who is a therapist in a jail. I would bring her rocks from all the stages of tumbling and she would present a set to her graduates, to represent the process of working in groups to knock away the rough spots to become the polished end result. Welcome from AZ.
|
|
|
Post by Pat on Sept 8, 2021 23:33:03 GMT -5
Welcome from California. Getting involved in activities other than self-analysis all the time is therapeutic. Rocks are a good, enjoyable way to go. I’m glad you joined the rest of us in rock therapy.
|
|
|
Post by stephan on Sept 9, 2021 0:06:46 GMT -5
Welcome from NorCal, and remember that you are right where you are supposed to be.
|
|
thebeef
having dreams about rocks
Member since September 2020
Posts: 62
|
Post by thebeef on Sept 9, 2021 12:07:50 GMT -5
Howdy from Indiana. I have also found that the various aspects of this hobby are helpful with my mental health. When I get anxious or overstimulated, I tend to go out to the tumblers in my garage and find something that needs done. When I get really depressed, I will wire wrap, Dremel carve, or make something of some sort with my completed rocks. Glad to have you.
|
|
Chris Sikk
having dreams about rocks
Member since September 2021
Posts: 73
|
Post by Chris Sikk on Sept 9, 2021 12:48:11 GMT -5
Howdy from Indiana. I have also found that the various aspects of this hobby are helpful with my mental health. When I get anxious or overstimulated, I tend to go out to the tumblers in my garage and find something that needs done. When I get really depressed, I will wire wrap, Dremel carve, or make something of some sort with my completed rocks. Glad to have you. "Dremel carve?" Oh, I may be bugging you in the future. I like my setup, but getting an even, polish-able surface with my Dremel has eluded me for the most part. Thanks for the introduction. I used to be your neighbor in Michigan.
|
|
Chris Sikk
having dreams about rocks
Member since September 2021
Posts: 73
|
Post by Chris Sikk on Sept 9, 2021 12:51:57 GMT -5
Welcome. Rocks are tactile and visual. I distribute thumb stones to special people and they are almost always warmly appreciated. What region are you located in? I am in Canada now. Living in Alberta. Funny, I recently went to the Royal Alberta museum and they have a rock and mineral collection featuring commonly found items from many US states, other countries and provinces. The Alberta collection had like 3 pieces. Haha. I may have picked the wrong hobby.
|
|
|
Post by Peruano on Sept 9, 2021 15:39:43 GMT -5
No, no. Alberta has to have great opportunities for lapidary and rock hounding. Potential sources of info and inspiration are the rock and gem clubs (one is in Edmonton). I have an 8" trim saw fabricated in Edmonton by Mercury Lapidary Co. (I'm assuming in the 60's). I know western Canada is a big place, but given some miles of travel it is a bonanza of rocks and tranquility.
|
|
Uriah
starting to shine!
Member since August 2021
Posts: 38
|
Post by Uriah on Sept 9, 2021 15:46:36 GMT -5
Yo!
My name is Chris and a few years ago I had a bit of a breakdown and wanted to end my life. I have been doing groups, therapy, and courses like CBT, but what really helps me is creating. I have finally started to understand that phrase about enjoying the process not the final product. Creating art is when I feel most as myself. However, I have spent 40+ years living in shame and self-disgust. So, it is not all that easy to remember that making art is actually good for me.
I started finding petrified wood along the river in the last 2 years. I have always had a fascination with rocks, but that is when I started doing it as a hobby. Taking the time to walk slowly and enjoy the landscape as I look for possible stones that speak to me is rejuvenating. At some point, I found a rock, likely just hardened clay or mud, that was super smooth and concave. This gave me the idea to make worry stones. As I fiddled with melting an under-powered rotary tool, a relative gave me an old rock tumbler. So, I started trying things and now I am looking to learn more.
At the moment, I have a small Thumler that I was gifted and I just purchased a Lortone 33B after finding this site in a duck duck go search and reading that it was recommended by so many people.
I hope to be helpful, but it may not be in the area of tumbling, yet. I do watercolor, graphic design, podcast, and I continue to volunteer in mental health and do some training in that area. Do not hesitate to hit me up if you want to chat.
Welcome! What's your podcast called?
|
|
|
Post by fernwood on Sept 9, 2021 17:03:12 GMT -5
A warm welcome from Wisconsin.
There are times I think that rocks keep me sane. Nothing like finding a rough rock and transforming it. Lapidary arts have many therapeutic benefits.
To quote a patch on one of my jackets: It is not about the destination, it is about the journey.
Looking forward to seeing your posts on RTH.
|
|
Chris Sikk
having dreams about rocks
Member since September 2021
Posts: 73
|
Post by Chris Sikk on Sept 9, 2021 18:31:19 GMT -5
Welcome! What's your podcast called? It started when I moved to Canada just as a way to keep in touch with a friend and spun out into a show about creators and makers. (In my head) it became a bit of a serious undertaking, lining up guests, researching them, writing questions, scheduling. So, I created another show just for fun? That show was yet another bad movie podcast, but was and still is a lot of fun. So what if there are lots of podcasts about bad movies, it's all about having fun with friends. I am just wrapping up pre-production and hope to start recording in 2 weeks.
|
|
thebeef
having dreams about rocks
Member since September 2020
Posts: 62
|
Post by thebeef on Sept 10, 2021 10:07:00 GMT -5
Howdy from Indiana. I have also found that the various aspects of this hobby are helpful with my mental health. When I get anxious or overstimulated, I tend to go out to the tumblers in my garage and find something that needs done. When I get really depressed, I will wire wrap, Dremel carve, or make something of some sort with my completed rocks. Glad to have you. "Dremel carve?" Oh, I may be bugging you in the future. I like my setup, but getting an even, polish-able surface with my Dremel has eluded me for the most part. Thanks for the introduction. I used to be your neighbor in Michigan. I'm absolutely a novice, but there are several threads here that are helpful. I just sorta like to figure things out as I go -- I figure I make more "mistakes" that way, but I'm also more likely to make something a little unique. And really, if there's no plan, can something really be a mistake? I have a vibratory tumbler, so sometimes I use that after carving to smooth things out. The rotary would probably work too if it's done after the rough stage. Most of the things I've carved have been pretty simple, like hearts or little imitations of Zuni spirit animal fetishes. I couldn't find any photos of the latter, but I found one of the hearts from while I was making it. What really transforms the rock from just a piece of earth into something more isn't the act of carving it so much as the act of gifting it to someone else, so I don't have any handy. I've found that really soft rocks like calcite are nice to use because they are quick, don't wear out the bits nearly as quickly, come in various colors, and they're cheap.
|
|
Uriah
starting to shine!
Member since August 2021
Posts: 38
|
Post by Uriah on Sept 11, 2021 17:00:50 GMT -5
Welcome! What's your podcast called? It started when I moved to Canada just as a way to keep in touch with a friend and spun out into a show about creators and makers. (In my head) it became a bit of a serious undertaking, lining up guests, researching them, writing questions, scheduling. So, I created another show just for fun? That show was yet another bad movie podcast, but was and still is a lot of fun. So what if there are lots of podcasts about bad movies, it's all about having fun with friends. I am just wrapping up pre-production and hope to start recording in 2 weeks. That's really cool. I'll subscribe! I also have a podcast, but the content doesn't have much crossover to a forum like this. Embrace it and have fun! Truly, it's hard to start a podcast about something that hasn't been done already. Make it unique and yours! Good luck!
|
|
Chris Sikk
having dreams about rocks
Member since September 2021
Posts: 73
|
Post by Chris Sikk on Sept 24, 2021 16:22:08 GMT -5
So, just in the short time I have been here I have learned so much. This is a fabulous community.
I am already getting better with my work. Now, I need to convince Alberta to let me own all my petrified wood so I can play with it. I am going to have to reach out to the local lapidary club to find information because I don't find much beyond the law on Provincial websites.
|
|