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After years of exposure to the antique tribal and Asian art created by the Indigenous peoples of the world and guided by a keen interest in archetypal symbolism, I set out one day with my camera on a curious hunt. I wanted to see whether the essence of this magnificent ancestral art could be found in rock itself, shaped not by human hands but by the natural phenomena of the Earth. With intention, I chose rock as my canvas, drawn to its profound cultural and religious symbolic history and its role as one of humanity’s earliest carriers of meaning.

My first of many treks began in the forty‑six‑mile chain of volcanic peaks and ridges that form the Santa Monica Mountains, a gloriously colorful volcanic landscape ranging from 12 to 200 million years old. A range that has disappeared into the sea and reemerged again on more than one occasion. Over time, inspired and often quietly guided by the spirits of the land, I encountered haunting and powerful natural images. They did not appear as objects but each as a presence: embodied forms sculpted by volcanic fire, water, wind, and a deep time. 

One of these extraordinary natural sculptures is entitled “The Shaman,” a portrait that emerged from the stone with unmistakable power and clarity. It is included in the Nature’s Ancient Art collection, a body of work that invites viewers to see and feel the profound presence of these naturally sculpted embodied spirits.

This collection — layered in geological, cultural, and symbolic history — invites us into the interconnectedness of art, culture, and environment. It reveals the mesmerizing emergence of historical patterns and reminds us that the more‑than‑human world is not inert matter but a living archive of intelligence, memory, and relationship.

j. Madison Rink