When a Halloween Ghost Takes a Nap on a Blue Spruce Tree Cone

 

I was walking my dog when I saw a stone looking at me. It was a small, half broken river stone, half buried in the sand. I guess I thought I saw a ghost, as Halloween is a couple of weeks away.

River stones are sometimes thousands of years old and once they were found in river beds. Over millennia, the water flow rolled large stones and boulders and eventually smaller ones were formed, often perfectly smoothened and shaped by the water flow. Then, many rivers disappeared; and sometimes the geographic area they once occupied became deserted or even desertic. 

Here is the broken stone I brought back home with me:

 

It was definitely looking at me with those almost perfectly shaped holes that I decided to transform into eyes. And, this ghost has been under the desert sun for millennia and is not white – it has a nice tan and developed pigmentation…

Given the uneven break in the stone, it leaned sidewise when I tried to prep it up. Like any ghost would lean sidewise to take a nap…

Now, I needed a stand to build may 2024 Halloween souvenir. My first thought was to use a petrified wood piece from among those that I collect during my walks in the desert. Then I came across an elk vertebrum that I had found during these walks, and it was as old as those petrified branches. More, it was perfectly balanced to become a stand for my sleeping ghost.

Here is the vertebrum:

And the ghost nicely cuddled on it:

I painted a couple of Halloween ghosts on the vertebrum, and added a Blue Spruce tree cone en guise of a pillow.

 

… I have done a few experimentation with deer and elk vertebra. Here is one from a few years back where I used elk vertebra and ribs (all petrified) to create a Halloween creature. The two creatures look good together, and I think they are having a conversation, although the “stone ghost” is not much interest in the discussion topic and is dozing off!

October 19, 2024

© Vahé A. Kazandjian, 2024