Find A Public Adjuster 888.228.7089 Enter Zip Code FIND Rock Art Brings the Beauty of Nature Indoors at the Utica Office Newsroom Rock Art Brings the Beauty of Nature Indoors at the Utica Office SUBSCRIBE NEWS ARTICLE Our resident artist, James Udovidchik, was commissioned to create a unique painting for the new office expansion at our Utica headquarters. James works in Accounts Payable with Tidal Basin (our sister company) and Vanguard Inspection Services, but in his free time, he’s a hobby-geologist-turned-abstract-painter. His geometric designs are created with rocks from around the world, and we’re lucky enough to have one of his newest pieces hanging in our corporate office. After the new painting was installed, James walked us through the name and origin of some of the rocks he included, mentioning that many of these specimens developed millennia ago deep within the Earth. (If you’ve never had the chance to learn about how rocks and minerals are formed, browsing through the Geology page on the National Park Service website could prove to be quite illuminating!) We asked James to share a bit more about how he started doing his geologic, geometric paintings, as well as some photos of his newly commissioned piece. Here’s what he had to say: “As a child, I was always intrigued with chemistry and rocks. From an early age, I played in the creek and collected rocks to bring home. I would practice memorizing the entire periodic table because I was amazed by how many different elements existed in this wonderful world and I wanted to know the names of all of them. As time went on, I started studying chemistry in college, further enhancing my understanding of this fascinating subject. I ended up working in a hospital as a pharmacy technician where I learned how to compound different medications. I would crush tablets into powder and mix them with different elixirs and medications. “One day, I decided to buy a paint set, but it only came with limited colors of acrylic paint. As I was sitting at my desk trying to paint, I couldn’t find the right color to use until I glanced at a rock next to me. An explosive idea came to mind: what if I create my own colors by compounding rocks like I used to compound medications? So, that’s what I did – and, wow, the outcome was perfect! Eventually, I moved into a new place that had a big, empty wall. I wanted a painting to fill up the blank space that stared back at me. I went online to look for paintings and searched and searched with no luck. Since I had just recently moved, I had boxes everywhere, and that’s when I noticed a box of rocks nearby. The memory of compounding rocks to make my own paint came back to me, and I decided to make my own painting composed entirely of rocks. From there, my paintings and painting style was born. “I crushed rocks into dust and started compounding them with clear acrylic paint until the mixture reached the right viscosity. I would then spread the rocky paint on the canvas and create different geometric shapes. I loved how everything intertwined. However, when my mother saw my work, she wasn’t as impressed and suggested I add fragments to my paintings. That way, it would actually look like rocks coming out of the canvas and not just some paint. What a great idea that was because I followed her advice for my next project, and I was speechless about how good it looked. My love for painting started to grow more and more with each new piece. I began experimenting with different rock types to produce eye-catching results and I was not disappointed. I hope you have a chance to see all my paintings. To me they are truly wonderful pieces of natural art.” James shares his current projects on Instagram at @udov2007. Be sure to follow along for work-in-progress shots and send him a message if you’d like your very own custom piece! Below are some photos of the painting he created for our Utica office space, along with a guide to every rock – nearly 100 different types – included in it. Fine-Grained Sandstone Utah 1, 49 Charnockite South Carolina 2, 22, 42, 110, 156 Bituminous Coal New York 3, 58, 72 Conglomerate New York 4, 8, 141, 182, 185 Schist North Carolina 5, 48, 53, 59, 105, 190 Chrysoprase Australia 6, 124 Pyrite Peru 7, 191 Diabase New York 9, 21, 51, 68, 160 Feldspar with Smoky Quartz North Carolina 10, 90, 100 Garnet Peridotite Norway 11, 41, 180 White Onyx Gravel Mexico 12, 25, 38, 66, 174, 186 Black Mica Schist North Carolina 13 Druzy Quartz Geode Morocco 14 Labradorite Madagascar 15 Red Jasper India 16, 60, 76, 98 Chalcopyrite Peacock Ore Mexico 17 Septarian Jasper Madagascar 18 Milky Quartz South Carolina 19 Copper-Stained Tuff California 20 Dark Purple Sandstone New York 23, 55, 143, 188 Gabbro New York 24 Flint South Carolina 26 Lapis Lazuli Afghanistan 27, 137, 187 Tourmaline China 28, 168 Unakite South Africa 29, 40, 108 Gold Tiger Eye South Africa 30, 35, 136 Black Quartzite New York 31, 47, 86, 109, 138, 151 Amazonite Madagascar 33, 67, 163 Granodiorite California 34 Rhyolite New York 36, 115 Fuchsite Brazil 37 Moonstone India 39, 162 Trondhjemite South Carolina 43 Syenite North Carolina 44 Emerald Colombia 45, 113 Charnockite New York 46 Granite New York 50 Orange Sandstone South Carolina 52 Green Opal Brazil 54, 121 Phyllite California 56, 117, 165 Sodalite Brazil 57, 104, 131 Smoky Quartz North Carolina 61 Ruby Sapphire Madagascar 63 Solar Druzy Agate India 64 Muscovite Mica North Carolina 65, 178 Specularite Hematite New York 69, 73, 99, 166, 177, 181 Amethyst Brazil 70 Orange Calcite Madagascar 71, 79, 87, 93 Carbonatite South Carolina 74, 81, 84, 142 Oolitic Sand (Stansbury Island) Utah 75, 171 Pink Tuff Breccia California 77, 154 Red Shale South Carolina 80, 95, 193 Blue Apatite Brazil 85, 147 Basalt New York 82, 107 Galena Morocco 83, 97 Mahogany Obsidian Nevada 88 Herkimer Diamond / Dolomite New York 89 Gabbro South Carolina 91 Green Calcite North Carolina 92, 140, 176 Crocodile Jasper Madagascar 96, 118 Quartzite New York 101, 123, 150, 175, 192 Turquoise Arizona 102 Black Kyanite Brazil 103 Selenite Morocco 106 Petoskey Stone (Fossilized Coral) South Carolina 111 Lepidolite Mica Brazil 112 Citrine Clusters Brazil 114, 128 Blue Aragonite Madagascar 116, 159, 189 Aventurine India 119 Quartz North Carolina 120 Auralite Canada 125 Chrysocolla & Turquoise Arizona 126 Lithophysal Obsidian California 127 Chocolate Brown Sand (Franciscan Complex) California 129, 144 Serpentine Russia 130 Garnet New York 132 Purple Flint South Carolina 133 Blue Flint South Carolina 134 Smoky Quartz / Dolomite New York 135 Red Tiger Eye South Africa 139 Chalk United Kingdom 145 Siltstone South Carolina 148 Chert New York 149 Rose Quartz Brazil 152 Red Hardened Clay New York 153, 172, 194 Petrified Wood Arizona 155 Yellow Ochre California 155 Gold Alaska / Colorado 157 Moss Agate South Carolina 158 Amphibolite New York 161 Mudstone Colorado 164 Granodiorite New York 167 Trilobite (Eldredgeops rana) / Diabase New York 170 Thulite Norway 173 Druzy Quartz South Carolina 179 Sulfur California 183 Dendraster gibbsii Fossil California 184 Sullivan's Island Beach Sand South Carolina 184 PREVIOUS RETURN TO NEWSROOM NEXT Adjusters International, Corporate Office 126 Business Park Drive Utica, New York 13502 United States 888.228.7089 About Contact References Newsroom Careers Office Locations COMMERCIAL HOMEOWNERS GOVERNMENT & NON-PROFITS WHY US TRUSTED ADVISORS PUBLICATIONS EDUCATION LATEST FROM THE NEWSROOM SUBSCRIBE Disclaimer Privacy Policy Cookie Policy Accessibility Sitemap Employee Login © 2021 Adjusters International, LTD. All Rights Reserved. Licensed Public Adjusters & Disaster Recovery Consultants Adjusters International Digital by TRAINOR We and selected third parties use cookies or similar technologies as specified in our cookie policy and privacy policy. You may opt out by using the link "Do Not Sell My Personal Information". You can consent to the use of such technologies by closing this notice or by scrolling this page. Learn more and customize. Accept ×