 From Sandstone to Sand Paintings
Well-rounded
grains of nearly pure quartz sand compose the St. Peter Sandstone. This
formation is up to 200 ft thick in the Pikes Peak region, and its massive beds
stand out among the bluffs and steep-walled ravines. Of special interest in its
lower portion are dramatic reddish-orange swirls and bands of iron-oxide cements. These colors were imparted by mineralized groundwater moving
through the porous sandstone.
|
Photo
by Ray Anderson.
|
Captivated
by the array of colors at Pictured Rocks or Sand Cave, as the site is known,
Andrew Clemens, an 1880s resident of McGregor, created exquisite,
three-dimensional sand paintings in bottles. During his 20s and 30s, he created
intricate designs and pictures by layering loose sand into drug jars, color by
color, upside down through their narrow openings. Completed artworks were sealed
with wax and inverted. Shown left are two sides of one jar, with George
Washington astride a white horse on one side, and two Native Americans, the
State Seal of Iowa (including motto), and a steamboat on the other. Note
Clemens’ signature in the red sand below the boat.
| |
|
|
 |
 |
|
Photo courtesy of State Historical Society of Iowa – Des Moines.
Photographer: Chuck Greiner.
|
|
Source for Andrew Clemens information: Wagasky, Rashelle, 1997. One in a Million. Iowa Heritage Illustrated, State
Historical Society of Iowa, Spring, 1997, p. 48-49.
Source for geological information: Anderson, R.R. and
Bunker, B.J. (eds). 2000. The Natural History of Pikes Peak State Park,
Clayton County, Iowa. Geological
Society of Iowa, Guidebook 70, Nov. 2000, 139 p.
Adapted from Iowa Geology 2001, No. 26, Iowa
Department of Natural Resources
|
