Susan Robinson

German Mineral Artist Eberhard Equit (b. 1939)

(1995). German Mineral Artist Eberhard Equit (b. 1939) Rocks & Minerals: Vol. 70, No. 4, pp. 264-265.

Of Mines & Men: A Look at Art that Depicts Mining

MINING INVOLVES THE EXTRACTION of ores and minerals from the earth, and miners are the people who labor to wrest those materials from the rock in which they are encased. In a sense, any collector who has searched for and worked to remove mineral specimens from the ground could be considered a miner.

German Mineral Artist Eberhard Equit (b. 1939): An Update

It has been nearly twenty years since Eberhard Equit was featured as the sole artist in Rocks & Minerals (Robinson 1995), although he was recently one of a select group of artists featured with the...

Beach Stone Artist Diane Rogers (b. 1957)

ant surface of silk fabric with subject matter whose surfaces have been weathered and worn. The fascinating structures, patterns, and shapes of natural objects that have undergone weathering or decay infuse Rogers with inspiration for the art she creates. Beach pebbles, rocks, textured tree bark, and colorful leaves are among the things she finds inspiring. She says, “There is a fascinating discord Diane Rogers (b. 1957)

The Rose Road Localities, Town of Pitcairn, St. Lawrence County, New York: Part 1—History

Crystals of lustrous green diopside, clove-brown titanite, tan wollastonite, bright blue fluorapatite, and white albite from Pitcairn, New York, are widely represented in major mineral collections worldwide. More recently, a second locality was discovered nearby that is producing sharp crystals of scapolite; translucent, purple diopside crystals; transparent, amber-colored phlogopite; and a host of accessory minerals. Both of these sites are open to collectors as fee localities and continue to produce excellent specimens. There is little in the way of published information on this important East Coast locality. This and succeeding articles will provide a detailed history of collecting at the localities, their geology and origin, a comprehensive description of mineral species found at each, and a description of fluorescent minerals, twins, and pseudomorphs found at each. The Wollastonite Skarn (WSK) and the Purple Diopside Mound (PDM) are located in the Town of Pitcairn in St. Lawrence County, New York, south of Rose Road and west of NY Route 3 at GPS 44°12 2.3 N, 75°13 59.7 W and 44°12 5.3 N, 75°14 2.7 W, respectively (figs. 1 and 2). Despite the common assumption that the name of the town, and the nearby village of Pitcairn, might be named for Pitcairn Island, this is not the case. Pitcairn Island was discovered in 1767 and named after a fifteen-year-old midshipman, Robert Pitcairn,

In Memoriam: Eberhard Equit (1939–2016)

Eberhard Equit’s exquisite portraits of minerals are a longlasting memorial to his remarkable talent. Undoubtedly, he was one of the world’s best artists in this genre, and his devotion to detail and accuracy in his art was unparalleled. Eberhard’s extraordinary work, done at his home, is mainly in watercolor with extra-fine brushes (some with only two hairs in the brush’s ferrule) on smooth art board. The minerals were painted on a 1:1 scale, and his accuracy was down to the scale of 0.05 mm, which is remarkable. Born in 1939 in Thuringia, Germany, his attraction to nature (especially stones) as well as his talent in art were obvious at an early age. He was fortunate to live not far from an academic artist and was instructed by him on weekends. Upon reaching adulthood, Eberhard attended the Hockschule für Bildende Kunstler (Dresden College of Visual Arts), Dresden, Germany, studying graphic design. There, from 1959 to 1965, he was instructed in art by Prof. Hans Theo Richter and learned lithography from R. Erhardt. After graduation, Eberhard apprenticed under the guidance of Prof. Otto Dix, himself a renowned painter and graphic artist. Eberhard then enrolled in more art instruction, and from 1965 to 1971 he learned scientific illustration and anatomy from Prof. Gottfried Bammes, also in Dresden. Anatomical illustration is a demanding profession, requiring the artist to be exact in every detail in his work. At last, after having a strong foundation in art, Eberhard left Dresden for the Berlin University of Fine Arts. There, from 1971 to 1978, he taught art, worked as a graphic designer, and was also employed by the Ministry for Culture of the former German Democratic Republic as an instructor and exhibit designer. With this strong foundation in art and design, Eberhard spent the rest of his career doing freelance work in the graphic arts and book design and as a lecturer. His art has been exhibited in many places in Europe: at Berlin, Freiberg, Munich, and Paris. He and I had adjoining booths at the 1997 Munich Show, and he revealed his generosity to other artists by promoting one of my paintings on exhibit there. In 1994, Eberhard created his own business, Eberhard Equit & Co., and since then, selfpublished his mineral art on calendars, whimsical notecards and postcards, and in three oversized books: Meisterwerke Sächsisher Minerale (1994), The World’s Mineral Masterpieces (2002), and Drawings of Mineral Masterpieces (2015). He spent many of his later years traveling to mineral collectors’ homes, commissioned to do paintings of some of their finest specimens. Mineral show attendees had the fortunate opportunity to view his original art at the Tucson Gem and Mineral Show, both in 1995 and more recently in 2010, where four mineral artists were selected to display their paintings and give presentations about their art at the Westward Look Fine Mineral Show. I remember that I enjoyed visiting with Eberhard at that time, and sadly, it was the last time I would see him; he passed away 11 November 2016. Our condolences are extended to his wife, Christine, and his family. I wrote about Eberhard in several articles in Rocks & Minerals: The first, which focused solely on him and showed examples of his artwork, was in the July/August 1995 issue; the next was in the January/February 2013 issue, “Paintings of Fluorite from a Select Group of Artists”; and the last was in the January/February 2015 issue, “German Mineral Artist Eberhard Equit (b. 1939): An Update,” which featured his most recent mineral paintings. For all of us with a deep appreciation of both art and minerals, this artist will be greatly missed. We should consider ourselves lucky to have known and seen such wonderful art from this talented man.

Blue Minerals and the Artist

Artists and crafts people can easily purchase many hues of the color blue in a variety of mediums because nearly all of the colors for use in art are made artificially today. However, having such ease of obtaining blue pigment was not possible several hundred years ago. The color blue was limited to about three sources: the minerals azurite, lazurite, and vivianite. This article focuses on those three minerals, where they were obtained, and their uses. Azurite, a carbonate of copper, was sourced from Hungary, Czech Republic, southern France, and southern Germany. Its quantities were not especially abundant, and the color was known as mountain blue and copper blue. Azurite could easily be crushed and made into a powder, and its hues ranged from dark blue to pale blue, depending upon whether the mineral was already weathered or if deep blue crystals

California Artist Ester Roi

to use vivid colors for her art! Warm and cool versions of red, blue, yellow, green, and everything in between are lavishly displayed in her paintings of pebbles in water. Although blue (specifically, cobalt blue) is her favorite color, she states: “I’m attracted to primary colors, vibrant and saturated. I play cool colors against warm ones, while shadows are always an excuse to introduce complementary colors. Like Claude Monet, I can testify that ‘colors are my day-long obsession, joy, and torment.’ ” CALIFORNIA ARTIST SUSAN ROBINSON 9654 Highway 37 Ogdensburg, New York 13669 pebble.art@outlook.com

Chicago Woodcarver Charles B. Crow

t must have been fate that led Charles B. Crow, a railroad worker, to display his wood carvings at an art fair. The president of Soiltest, Inc., a company that designs and manufactures rock testing and monitoring equipment, saw Crow’s art and realized that his carvings could be used to promote the company’s products. Thus began a relationship that benefited both the artist and the industry. Charles B. Crow SUSAN ROBINSON 9654 Highway 37 Ogdensburg, New York 13669 pebble.art@outlook.com

“Geode” Artist Paige Smith (b. 1982)

of the game rock-paper-scissors because she utilizes those three items in her art: inspiration comes from the rock, and scissors and paper create the “crystals” that line the geode’s walls. Thus, instead of being naturally formed, they are made of masses of individually constructed paper points that are then spray painted to resemble real geodes. Smith, who lives in Los Angeles, exhibits her brightly colored “ GEODE” ARTIST