Haiku Minerals from the mineral portfolio of Len Pisciotta
I dedicate this book to my daughter Hannah and to those who take on the arts to develop Imagination and inspiration in their lives. Len Pisciotta, August 2016
Len Pisciotta
“ Why
are some icicles long, some short? ”
T
his haiku by the Japanese poet Onitsura illustrates the dichotomy that exists between humankind and minerals: the fleeting moment and the perceived eternal. In existence for hundreds of years before the technology of photography, haiku gave people a means of expressing the wonders of nature, of taking the ordinary and making it extraordinary. Len Pisciotta has taken two subjects that he is passionate about, haiku and minerals, and combined them to make a record of his reaction to mineral specimens he has encountered in his life, some self-collected, some finding their way to him through other sources. Sometimes Len‘s haiku touches on his feelings for the form of the mineral, and sometimes, the most magical times, his haikus relate to the journey that took him to the wild and remote spaces where he first encountered his subject.
Many people would see the worldly beauty in a crystal and no more. Others would wonder why anyone would waste their time, traveling so far and working so hard just to find a rock. But if people truly have a soul, then it stands to reason all of nature has a soul as well, and it makes such a journey to find that soul worthwhile. It has been Len‘s intuition and nature that have led him to seek out the soul of each of these minerals and to tell part of its story. Perhaps he may be trying to convey to those of us that see a stone as a stone in an ordinary world that there just might be more out there than meets the eye. In the words of another famous haiku poet, Issa: „The world of dew is the world of dew ... and yet ...“ – John Miatech –
5
“ Pyrite stands so tall
yet it leans on someone close. Who is suffering ? ”
PYRITE
9
Mineral: Pyrite Locality: Carson Hill Mine, Calaveras County, California, USA Size: 5 x 5 cm
ROSASITE
“ False Shape a disguise
I feel you are authentic Within this warm hug � 11
Mineral: Rosasite after Malachite after Azurite Locality: Trumeb Mine, Otjikoto Region, Namibia Size: 8 x 6 cm
“ Finding secret places
In dim forest rich with life Mushrooms sit and wait �
Mineral: Malachite Locality: Star of the Congo Mine, Lubumbashi, Shaba, Congo Size: 10 x 6 x 6 cm
MALACHITE
19
HEMATITE WITH QUARZ
“ Early winter frost
Holds rock and soil in place Ice yields to warm sun ” 37
Mineral: Hematite with Quarz Locality: China Size: 17 x 90 cm
GOLD
“ A journey inside
Elegant – rebirth – poised Phoenix transforming ” 45
Mineral: Gold Locality: Eagles Nest Mine Size: 6 x 3.5 cm
Man in the middle
M
y father loved physics and history and studied them both. There were always three or more books around the house that he was reading at any one time, and he often called physics his religion. “There is so much we don’t know looking outward towards the universe as well as in looking inward within ourselves,” my father would often say. To him, life was a spiritual quest. Similarly, art is often an act that is affected not only by moments of inspiration and perception, but by serendipity as well, which connect the artist to both the physical and spiritual qualities of the world around us.
Mineral: Calcite Locality: Dalen-Kjørholt Mine, Kjørholt, Brevik, Porsgrunn, Telemark, Norway Size: 9 x 5 cm
CALCITE
53
ILVAITE WITH CALCITE
59
Mineral: Ilvaite with Calcite Locality: Dalnegorsk, Primorskiy Kraj, Russia Size: 12 x 9 cm
Photography: Martin Backhauss, Sol Gate Photography, Oakland CA, USA Photography Assistant: Roger Pettersen Design: Martina Bacher, BACHERDESIGN, Overath, Germany Print: Pacem Druck ohg, Cologne, Germany