09 Jul Hidden in Stone

Andreas and Naomi Kunert, the founders of Ancient Art of Stone, complete their handmade, one-of-a-kind architectural installations with a process they call “waking up the stone.”

This installation includes rose quartz, turquoise, Peruvian chrysocolla, red avatar jasper, and beach pebbles, andis part of a stone mosaic door titled Phoenix Rising.

Some of the rocks they place in their projects are linked to an immeasurably distant past on Earth and represent significant geologic events. For the couple, glacial moraines are treasure troves that provide flat saucers especially suited to mosaic walls, while pebbles are better suited to the curvilinear mosaics that decorate doors. In one installation, they paired semi-precious crystals with a 350-million-year-old fossil of a marine creature.

An up close look at a large commission com-pleted in May 2021 that features a lepidolite sphere, amethyst, and beach stones. Photo by Michael
Parks.

Andreas’s early exploration of the outdoors fostered a passion for mountaineering, rock climbing, and backcountry skiing. He founded a stone quarry in Canada nearly three decades ago, which led to developing their architectural adornment business in 2009. The couple has been inseparable from when they met that same year, and they work together to build each piece in their studio in the Cowichan Valley on Vancouver Island.

Part of theSacred Spaceentryway, which is composed of a 300-million-year-old ammonite,Brazilian amethyst, red avatar jasper, Peruvian chrysocolla, glacial erratics, and beach pebbles.

When working with a client, phases of the project include proposals, a design contract, and hand-selecting each stone so that it fits into their imagined mosaic. It may take a year to finish a commission, which can reach two stories tall and stretch as long as a city block. The stones they use range in size from pebbles to megaliths and include granite, basalt, sandstone, and semi-precious crystals such as amethyst. Works can weigh several tons and feature stones from around the globe. Once completed, the pieces are shipped to their destinations where the Kunerts oversee installations.

The intertwined initials of Andreas and Naomi Kunert decorate a bronze sculpture.

Over the years, the Kunerts have created just about everything in stone, from murals, doors, sculptures, and fireplaces, for a range of private and corporate clients. And although the collaboration gives rise to functional artwork that is sold and admired, that is only part of the couple’s aim. Their true calling is to infuse their work with integrity, beauty, healing, and what they interpret as a love and connectedness for all life. “We’re creating this sacred space for each of our clients by using certain stones and crystals that align with their energy to bring harmony, health, and connection,” Naomi says.

his segment of a petrified wood fireplace hearth is highlighted by opal, jasper, and quartz.

Their work is an intensive and personal process that involves an understanding between the artists and potential clients. The Kunerts create from a place of intuition, and Andreas says he counts on Naomi’s ability to listen to their clients and know which stones or crystals would be most appropriate for their commission. “She tunes in to these people,” Andreas says, adding that their process has even sent Naomi to the jungles of Brazil to source certain crystals needed for the task at hand.

The Sentinel, a live-edge walnut door is decorated with a mosaic that includes volcanic ash from Mount St. Helens, Peruvian chrysocolla, red avatar jasper, and beach pebbles set into walnut. Photo by Vanessa Lust.

Admiration for the couple’s work has spread globally, and their reputation has grown far beyond their studio in British Columbia. A Disney executive said he sought two “jaw-dropping” fireplace features for a vacation home and concluded that his high-artistic expectations “were definitely exceeded.”

Seeking Heaven is an outdoor fireplace created in honor of Naomi’s sister, who died last year. It’s a massive basalt hearth with Arizona quartzitic sandstone, Colorado glacial erratics, and Brazilian blue apatite.

“At the end of the process with clients — and after installing the artwork — is a private, personal ceremony for waking up the stone, like in ancient times. We offer that to our clients, bringing their intentions or prayers forward to seal the work, thus awakening their sacred space,” says Naomi. “Hidden within the stone is a secret function and frequency in creation. The spirit of stone brings us strength, stability, and grace in this world while we continue to have this human existence.”

This secret garden gateway is composed of a granite boulder from South Dakota, which was cut in half and set with Colorado glacier erratics.

The Kunerts will also incorporate stones or other artifacts that have meaning for clients. While working, they feel guided, and when finished, they feel the human connection could neither be deeper nor more timeless.

This 750-square-foot structure — used as an office — incorporates glacial glacial erratics, fossils, and many crystals. It also includes basalt columns and a large sodalite boulder from Brazil.

“My husband and I know that the creative force working through us is divinely inspired,” says Naomi. “As we work with stone, it is a spiritual journey.”

In the studio, Naomi sets pebbles for a fireplace commission. Photo by Vanessa Lust.

This stunning fireplace portal features Brazillian amethyst cathedrals, carved tlupana blue marble, Australian lepidolite sphere, jamhuri blue calcite, and glacial erratics. Photo by Michael Parks.

An indoor-outdoor kitchen features a mural with a nuummite crystal sphere, red avatar jasper, glacial erratics, and beach pebbles.

Andreas sets the stones in a fireplace commission. The pieces are created in the couple’s studio, then shipped and installed, with every step overseen by the Kunerts. Photo by Vanessa Lust.

Andreas and Naomi Kunert sit in front of a commissioned fireplace they designed. The pair has been inseparable since they met in 2009. Photo by Vanessa Lust.

The Enchanted Crystal Sculpture Garden includes Brazilian prasiolite (green amethyst), purple amethyst, basalt columns, rose granite, and glacial erratics. Photo by Artez.