I am midway through a 'painting' of an underwater ancient shallow sea.
Instead of using paint I am using pounds of solid opal complete with Asian carved and polished plants and opal creatures from Australia, Africa and Mexico. On the upper right hand corner an island emerges from the sea with a palm tree and butter fly so far. I am carving a wave crashing on shore with color changing crystal opal today. The whole thing is about a foot wide and nine inches tall. The base is ocean floor opal and the other side is a display of various types of colorful opals big and small. Overall it is a serene sculpture of aqua and earth tones that could adorn any shelf or mantlepiece. Opals were formed under shallow seas millions of years ago. The idea for this piece came 15 years ago when I acquired the enormous piece of thick opal that looks like the sea that no one else wanted.
I use a mask, dremel and water to keep the dust down. I sold a cello to afford the opals over time which were much cheaper 15 years go.