Rock art! Painting and crafting with the humble pebble

Humans drew on rock before they had written language, using wild berries or minerals or animal blood to draw tales of the hunting and the gathering. Scicluna, a crafter, photographer, and painter, updates the millennia-old craft, showing how to endow the pebble with another life as an owl's face, jellyfish monster, dinner place card, or pebble pet. Pebbles, actually a class of rocks "larger than a granule but smaller than a cobble," become cactus gardens, frilly fish, "misfit monsters" and doorstops. Among the pages of colorful inspiration, readers will find advice on selecting and prepping pebbles; sources for those not into hunting down their own rocks; and 250 color photos with instructions suitable for all ages. There are also many photos of rocks, and explanations of terms like metamorphic, igneous, and sedimentary. Most of the pebble up- grades are easily created, though some, such as the "pebble people" representing various nations and occupations, might be better suited for more experienced artists. Scicluna's rocks are not to be skipped. (Mar.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

Everyday river rocks aren't commonly considered a craft material, but rock painting is easy to do and inexpensive enough for beginners to try without much financial commitment. Visual artist Scicluna advocates for letting the shape of the rock help determine how it should be painted-for example, a rock that gently tapers toward the top suggests the form of a leaf. As one might expect, many of the samples are whimsical-think cartoonish birds and monsters-but there are also mandalas and abstract pieces, including several ideas for minimalist painting that allow the natural material to show. Scicluna also provides suggestions for creating your own faux rocks out of polymer clay, as well as tips for finishing your rock art for posterity. VERDICT Crafting with natural materials is a popular topic, and although painting rocks seems like an simple enough task without the assistance of a book, the inspiration and project suggestions provided here may be helpful to crafters. © Copyright 2015. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.