I’m in Washington, DC attending the Smithsonian Craft Show, a mecca event for this country’s artists. One of my clients is exhibiting here for the first time, and I came to see her and her new work. Liz Alpert Fay, textile artist extraordinaire, designed an elegant boutique to showcase her work in the National Building Museum which serves as the backdrop for this show.

In one corner of her booth I noticed a pedestal next to her exquisite featured wall hanging. On it was a crystal bowl filled with waters and rocks. The rocks were quite beautiful, but I wasn’t putting 2+2 together. Then Liz explained. She had taught a workshop in Michigan, and before traveling out there she researched interesting places to visit. She read about Petoskey stones found on beaches in that state. They have a unique property–the geometric shapes on the surface– as you can see in this photograph, that becomes astonishingly beautiful when wet or polished.

Although Liz’s visit to Michigan was for the purpose of teaching a workshop, she is always on the lookout for interesting things in nature to inspire her. She, along with many other people on the beach, selected dozens of the Petoskey stones to take home with her. Rather than carry them through security at the airport, she shipped them home via UPS.

And then she set about designing a rug based on their beauty. Here’s a close-up and the full piece:

I feel so fortunate to work with people like Liz who are living their passion and sharing it with the world.