I’ve been examining some of the natural objects I’ve picked up over the last few months and I am always amazed at the extraordinary things that can be observed when one stops to really look.
This is a collection of small but very different natural works of art, etched out by time and environment.
This worn shell from Cape Breton reminds me of a delicate piece of filigree china.
It also appears to have tiny articulated legs!? Perhaps the calcified legs of some other creature, or some sort of plant growth, I really don’t know. Or maybe it’s just the way it’s wearing away. Any ideas?
This small stick I picked up from the shore of the Ottawa River is heavily engraved with “drawings” made by insects. The first thing that comes to my mind, is that it looks like a little carved totem pole.
Below are images taken of fossil-bearing rocks from the Ottawa area. The first three contain beautifully patterned fossils of tetradiids, which were solely Ordovician lifeforms. These fossils are quite small and were photographed using a macro lens.
Fossils in the abstract.
All images © Karen McRae
draw and shoot 
If I let myself, pretty much any rock I pick up has features I could spend time photographing.
Nice post, and nice photos.
Rocks are extraordinarily diverse, aren’t they? I completely understand. Thanks, Disperser.
These are beautiful. You are right about the stick looking like a carved totem pole. It looks as if the patterns were human-made.
I agree, there is a lot of symmetry in those carvings, it’s fascinating. Thank you, Anne.
Thank you – interesting and beautiful. I love the haiku form of poetry, which also says much in a seemingly small way. Best wishes, Ellen
Thanks very much, Ellen. Best wishes to you also.
Nature is the most beautiful artist 🙂
Yes, I agree! 🙂
Amazing collection of photos. Sea-snails almost looks like hand curved ornaments.
The pattern made by the small wood beetle under the bark really looks like man made. Again, the fossils in the stones looks like the primitive cave drawings.
Good findings.
Thank you, Yoshizen. I think the fossils look like cave drawings, too.
Thank you for allowing us to observe these treasures. I had a great time looking them over.
I’m glad you did, Wally. Much thanks!
These are incredible, Karen! ‘Hieroglyphs’ on shells, wood and fossils – like looking into an ancient culture. Thank you for bringing them to light.
Hi Lois, they are pretty cool. I’m glad you think so, I like your idea of some ancient natural culture. 🙂 Thank you.
Nice intriguing series of images
Thanks, Rudolf.
Beautiful.
🙂
Nature – what an artist!
Yes!
I love the totem stick! It’s absolutely amazing!
Those engraver beetles (I think) are pretty great artists. 🙂
An absolutely fascinating collection, very well seen and beautifully captured.
Hi Louis, thank you for you comment. 🙂
Incredible collection of natural artwork!
Thank you.
What fantastic finds and captures! Particularly the tetradiids, just beautiful..I love to think of all these little creature communities going on about their business in tandem with our world..
Thanks very much, Cath. 🙂
I love that piece of wood…we have a big ‘rain stick’ made of scribbly gum that has the same sort of insect carved pattern…..it’s been sliced in half and filled with seeds and other materials that make the sound of rain through different chambers when you turn it…..and our authentic didgeridoo is from a piece of wood that’s been hollowed out by white ants – not machinery like most of the tourist trade rubbish sold here. I love how something so beautifully musical, and wonderfully tactile, has been made by insects. – Your photos are wonderful, you have such a unique eye for the micro details of life.
Your rain stick sounds very cool, they do make the most unique and soothing sound. Thanks!
What natural treasurers…if only one will take time to look. Thanks for sharing. I have always collected “nature art” and will continue to do so. It has more meaning.
I have lots of “nature art” myself and it is very meaningful.
Thank you.
You’ve obviously got a marvelous eye for detail! Wonderful post – thanks for sharing!
anne
Hi Anne, thanks for your visit and comments. Much appreciated.
So beautiful, Karen…all of it….
Thank you, Scott.
You are very welcome. 🙂
You are so right Karen, they are “works of art, etched out by time and environment”, photographed however by a very talented person who had the eye to see them!
Marina, thank you. 🙂
I loved these images and your thoughts!! I have thoughts like these when I walk on Skye, or on holiday in Cornwall. We are so lucky to be amongst wonder wherever we are in the world.
Thanks so much. It is a pretty amazing world we live in.
Beautiful!! times three. I love the two surprised bug-eye fish that appear in the very last shot. 😉
Thanks, Shez. I was wondering if anyone would notice those little characters! 🙂
This is a really cool collection. They really shine from your photographic brilliance.
Shucks, Allen, what a nice thing to say. 🙂
Thank you!
Like them…ALOT!
Simplicity in colour is the main thing I like.
Thank you, Todor.
Love them. The legs creeped me out though. The stick was beautifully photographed. If you hadn’t said insects I have thought the close ups were people carved.
Thanks for the nice comments, Tin Roof!
Aliens – only explanation.
I found some great rocks on my last trip out. Marble, crystal and coated like frost. I can’t resist, and the pile is getting bigger.
Jim
Yes!! I think you’re right, Jim. Aliens are an excellent explanation. Thank you.
My rock pile is a good size, too!
breathtaking images of wonderful natural sculptures in superb lighting, Karen. and the info adds so much more…
by means of your camera, you marry science to aesthetics
Thank you very much, Alessandro. A very generous comment.
🙂
I really did think that stick was a piece of old artwork at first – how incredible that little insects created their own piece of art work. Stunning photographs too!
Thanks for commenting. Yes, that insect work is something! 🙂
Just beautiful – there is beauty in everything, and your posts (all of them, actually) is such proof of that. The totem-like pole is so elaborate! And the legs in that shell – a little crab from a former life? Great work karen! Always inspiring! A reminder to always look for the best in everything.
Marina, thanks so much. I find all these things very intriguing and I’m glad other people do, also. I know I’ve thanked you over and over, but I so appreciate your generous input. 🙂
You’re so kind Karen – thankfulness, gratefulness, inspiration – it’s all good and goes hand in hand!
Stunning close-ups Karen! The shells remind me of lace a little… amazing to see, thank you. 🙂
Fossils in abstract. Beautiful.
The closeup imagery is so inspiring. What amazing beauty. And to think that it would never be seen without such great photographs.
Time and nature combine to make everything more interesting – lovely.
Do insects know scrimshaw? That was my first impression when I saw that piece of engraved wood. Lovely how our imaginations continue to soldier on without being intimidated by common sense.
I love to draw seashells – like photography, it makes you appreciate the wonderful detail, the incomparable beauty.
Beautiful images!
Oh how much fun we would have on a walk along the shore. I have a large collection of shells, driftwood, polished glass, etc, etc… and I’m also fascinated by the details. I found a huge piece of driftwood two nights ago that I wanted, but couldn’t manage to carry it home (need a boat). It also had lovely engravings. Absolutely beautiful.
When I was a child, I’d look at a rock, a shell, an insect-carved piece of wood or a patch of moss and imagine miniature worlds set there, microscopic beings using the insect carvings as their mazes or city streets…
This takes me back in a most amazing way.
I think you see the world in the same way as I do, in the little things, the fine detail. There is such a world of beauty inside natural objects. Your photographs are delicious.