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