Hello, my name is Sebastian Stoll and I am from Mainz. My great passion are gemstones, minerals and fossils.

Since my childhood I have been going rock hunting. I have always been fascinated by the colors and structures of the stones I find.

In them the creative forces and laws of the cosmos manifest themselves.

 Over many years I have experimented to make their essence, their soul, visible through the inner structures of the found gemstones.

I call these artistic "stone views" Lithoviso.  What I do in the process and why it fascinates me so much, I explain here.

 
Where noble stones grow

 
About 290 million years ago, in the Permian period, there was great volcanic activity in the area of today's Hunsrück and parts of Rheinhessen.

Inconceivable amounts of lava poured out of the earth and dramatically changed the landscape at that time.

 The gas bubbles in the lava formed cavities as the rock cooled. These filled with hot water in which silicic acid, minerals and organic seeds of life were dissolved. From their interaction, colorful agate, jasper and crystal were formed in the absolute darkness of the earth. Thus, these cavities became the birthplace of gemstones. To this day, science struggles to explain how the unique structures and forms of these minerals are formed.

 
Primordial forces in action


To me, these gemstones are marvels of creation. They originate at the boundary between animate and inanimate matter. Although they are not alive and have no metabolism, they grow and form their own intricate structures, shapes and colors. With a magnifying glass, true microcosms can be spied in some stones. I have also always been fascinated by the elemental forces that gave rise to them. These stones have something magical for me.

 
A time travel and treasure hunt

 
Stone-hunting in Hunsrück and Rheinhessen is for me a decelerating, sensual excursion into the landscape. At the same time it is a time travel into long past geological ages.

 The knowledge of the geological past combined with the knowledge of today's landscape is like a key. With it, I can track down the places where the treasures of the Hunsrück and Rheinhessen are hidden. Of course, a little intuition and luck of the finder are also part of it.

After the stones have been digitized, the next step follows: On the computer I intensify their colors, play with the structures and shapes, and transform them
mindfully. This is a meditative process that usually takes many hours, days and weeks.


In the process I make the cosmic and creative forces and laws which manifest in the stones visible. During this time I also encounter the unique figures, forms and symbols that I capture and show in my pictures.

Each image is unique, based on the inner world of the particular gemstone.

 A reference to the art historical classification of the images can be found here.

Stone in-sights - The soul of the stones