by Tony Ankowicz

This 7.5 foot (2.28 m), 49 lbs (22.22 kg) stone, harvested from under the waters of the Great Lakes, Canada, is a unique example of the contrast between the beautiful harshness of the local environment and the transient fragility of nature’ssx art. Its existence in this delicate form before being discovered in a mere 4 feet (1.2 m) of water continues to be an enchanting mystery. Its structural integrity can be credited to a vein of very hard quartzite running the entire length, enveloped by two supportive layers of softer gneiss. The logistics of balancing such a slender stone necessitated incorporating a slight left leaning bias. Such an approach limited the requirement for an overly rounded and visually distracting mount. This amazing stone is respectfully titled “Mi Fu’s Staff.”x It was collected by and is owned by Tony Ankowicz.