7. Crashing Symbols

The fact was that no matter how many new stone carving techniques I learned, it was unrealistic to think that I could mass produce rocks that could spin under a magnet at anything resembling a reasonable price, and Roswell Rock replicas themselves would surely only appeal to a limited number of people - so I needed to come up with an alternative product. To me it seemed that the carving technique created such an interesting and mysterious look, that it didn't really need to do the spinning thing. After all, there is a world of things that could be carved onto a rock - special rocks for special interests... for example, crop circles! There were, of course, plenty of designs to choose from, and it seemed as good a place to start as any.As quickly as I could, I opened an eBay store and because virtually anything that can be carved onto a rock could be rightfully called a "symbol" (try to think of something that could not be), I named it "symbols in Stone" and began tentatively putting them up for sale. Within that first week I sold enough that I was convinced that it was going to actually pan-out and proceeded to work like a maniac, and why not? It seemed perfect. Now when people contacted me about the images on Coast's website, asking where they could buy one, I had somewhere I could send them.

But as the weeks passed and rocks began to accumulate, on the window sills, on the fridge, the mantel, the piano - and the carvings improved, and the store improved, and even the prices improved, the sales... did not.

After two grueling months I sat glassy-eyed before the computer screen, preparing to load images of the latest work, and smiled as a simple thought blossomed in my mind. "I don't have to do this". Peaceful relief washed over me as I shut down the store.

(and finally - 8. In Conclusion)