Introducing Chester the White Quartz Rat:

Start Date: May 15, 2019 ~ Completion Date: Pending

I found this rock (along with a few others) near Joshua Tree CA in April 2019. Upon returning home I cleaned it up and captured the image seen in the first photograph-you can see where the eye is already positioned on the left side.  Once I saw the picture I knew it was either going to be a mouse or a rat.

Deciding on a rat I referenced pictures for a general idea of their anatomy. It wasn’t until I started going through my chip inventory I decided on white Howlite for the “fur” color.

I picked the red teardrop shaped faceted glass for the eyes. and also trimmed down white leather hide to create the eyelids.

I felt the rock was a male pretty early into the process and his name “Chester” came to me when I was driving home one day in the fall 2019

When I started working on Chester I was also working on Annabelle the Chameleon, often rotating between the two pieces depending on how things were flowing. Originally my thought was only to finish only one side of the rat but in February 2020 I decided to change things up because he wasn’t feeling whole.

In order to fill in the other side several additional layers of Howlite chips were required to achieve a more uniform look.

Chester continues to be a work in progress, and only he knows when he will be finished. Please feel free to check back for updates…

I am humbly honored, and deeply grateful to work with natures gifts in this way.

Cat Okamura, owner Cats Conscious Creations

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