A few years ago I was out mowing the lawn one nice summer day. Things are going along fine when all of a sudden there is a loud grinding noise coming from the blades. I know and hate that sound. It means I've hit a rock. That usually means beat up blades, a lot of work to repair/replace, and the lawn is only half-mowed. I stopped, got off the tractor, and found the source of the noise. I dug up the offender. Rather than tossing it into the woods or putting somewhere out of the way, I took a deeper look at the rock. It seemed to have a very interesting shape. I set it aside for later.
A closer look at the blades indicated it must have been a glancing blow as there wasn't any damage - or at least any new damage - to the blades. I finished mowing the lawn.
Several days later I looked at the rock again with a different point of view. I liked the shape, the size, and form. There is a Japanese art form called Suiseki. From Wikipedia - "These stones are not just any stones which can be found in nature; they must be expressive stones and have a special shape, color and texture to be categorized as suiseki. There is a distinction between landscape and object stones. The former reflect landscapes such as mountains, lakes or rivers, while other stones have object shapes that resemble animals or sculptures."
I had been looking for a good suiseki for some time. I hadn't spent a lot of energy but always felt like I'd know it if I saw it. This was the one. I set about designing a glass stand for the rock, in the true nature of Suiseki. However, one thing was still bothering me.
Then the thought occurred - why not make the rock in glass as well.
The story of making the rock is quite a bit of work - rubber molds, mother molds, two part molds, casting, etc. I'll document that at some other point. In the meantime, here is "The Rock".
