The Secret Lives of Stones
![](https://www.davidbentstudio.com/storage/articles/hiPUH-screenshot-2024-02-28-at-12-11-51-copy.jpg)
I was walking in the Himalayas one day in 1983, somewhere near Muktinath in the Annapurna range of mountains when on the snowy path before me I spotted this smooth black stone . I picked it up and still have it to this day. It is the top stone in my collection! Later that day I found shelter and hospitality from 3 Tibetan wise men (Lamas) who imparted their wisdom to me about the mysteries of existence and gifted me an ancient Snake Bone Neckless as a good luck talisman which I also still have. I know the Snake Bone Neckless is not a stone but is treated in the same manner.They are all real stones or objects rendered objectively through careful observation but with having their scale changed and set in a new context,
![](https://www.davidbentstudio.com/storage/articles/0QZkN-goldstone800.jpg)
![](https://www.davidbentstudio.com/storage/articles/w0TVl-snakebonenecklace800.jpg)
![](https://www.davidbentstudio.com/storage/articles/sfSeV-ammistone-sketch.jpg)
![](https://www.davidbentstudio.com/storage/articles/JLeGA-crystal-sketch.jpg)
![](https://www.davidbentstudio.com/storage/articles/PfqjM-gullstone-sketch.jpg)
![](https://www.davidbentstudio.com/storage/articles/VVQq9-turdstone-sketch.jpg)
![](https://www.davidbentstudio.com/storage/articles/dgEti-samosa-sketch.jpg)