Kai Gallagher was wild and adventurous from the get-go. The sun infused desert, watermelon stained mountains, and soft adobe structures of New Mexico served as the backdrop for her most loved childhood memories and sustained her with their primitive raw beauty and subtle haunting colors. She felt she belonged to this land and it to her.
“My rock story begins with simple cardboard shoeboxes. I collected specimens of pink quartz, chips of blue and green turquoise, ancient shell and fern fossils and big lovely sheets of mica (my favorite). I believed that my collection and my connection with rock were truly special. I still feel this way. Gratefully so.”
Kai graduated with honors three times and has a Master’s in Education, two BA’s, and a true love of literature, poetry and foreign languages. She taught at both the graduate and elementary levels. Her travels have taken her to Europe, South America, Mexico, Guatemala, Canada and China. “I love the journeying, exploration and the relinquishing into trust that comes with the adventure of travel.”
Kai met Bruce Eckhardt, a talented lapidarist, who reintroduced her to the beauty of natural stones and encouraged her to explore her own creativity. She began her lapidary journey with a beginner’s mind and returned full circle to her passion for rocks. Her goal is to bring forth the inherent beauty of each stone while maintaining its structural integrity. Kai cares about balance, color and clean design in her work and uses exclusively high-grade natural turquoise and gemstones.
“My life, as well as my art, is an evolution of my soul. I trust that stone, in some form will always be a part of that evolutionary process. I am grateful for the desert and mountain beauty that continue to inspire me, to my journey, such as it is, to my teachers and to my hallmark KAIZEN, which means
‘on-going progress involving everyone’.”
