I was born and raised in Casper, Wyoming with family in Colorado and Montana. I now live in Traverse City, Michigan. If I could get the Rocky Mountains on the shores of the Great Lakes, It would be my ideal Heaven.

I see influences of the Wyoming desert and the Grand Tetons in my work. The Colorado Rockies and Montana's Glacier Park and now Lake Superior's awesome shoreline are my inspirations.

I was lucky enough to have a mother who taught me to see the beauty of the simplist things that to most eyes would have been missed. The way a weed dries to a floral perfection, how the wind shapes trees that get in its way, rock formations that have no business standing. For this I will be forever greatful.

My lamps are my true passion. Starting off with a pile of rocks I collected from the frigid waters of Lake Superior to seeing the final piece still amazes me. There is no glue at all holding the lamps together!! The base rock is hand ground to be level and stable. All the rocks are drilled so a rod for the cord can be run. I love angles, but drilling the holes in the rocks at an angle presents many challenges. Each stone is then ground to fit each other perfectly. Sometimes the rocks actually fold over each other. If they are not ground perfectly, the lamp will end up leaning.
It is not uncommon for a lamp to lose several inches in height from the grind to fit process.
Everything is held together by tightening the brass neck down with a wrench, compressing the stones together. When the lamp is finished, there is no evidence of the rod showing. This is accomplished by a lot of time and patience.

I am most proud of the fact that I am self taught. There was and still is a lot of trial and error. Rocks shattering, bits breaking and dust flying. To see the piece in its final form is awesome!

The Rockies and the Great Lakes pale in comparison to the inspiration my beatiful wife Ruth give me. Our rock collecting trips to Lake Superior are too much fun. At home I have to "show and tell" every piece I come up with and hope she doesn't make the face like I am crazy. Without her love and support nothing would be worth pursuing..

Kevin

stone lamps