As you may know, Garnet is January's birthstone. So, when I was thinking this morning about how much work I have to get accomplished in the next 72 hours I figured Garnet would be a quick and easy Daily Doodle so I could turn my focus towards my other paintings.
The question today is where can a person find Garnet in nature? Turns out, you can find it in several countries around the world. There are four countries who are still dominate in Garnet production and by volume they are: India (700,000 metric tons of Garnet), China (470,000 metric tons), Australia (150,000 metric tons), and the United States (around 54,000 metric tons).
Ashely (my partner from Our Creative Nest) and I have actually found small bits of Garnet when out rockhounding in Southern California. It was pretty awesome to discover, and even though most of the pieces were about the size of a grain of rice, I felt like Abu in the Cave of Wonders (though I'm pretty sure that was a giant Ruby, not a Garnet).
I toyed with the idea of painting a cut garnet, but ultimately I'm more of a raw girl myself (unless we're talking meat of any kind, then burn that to a crisp, please). There's something magical to me about what is found in nature without the "helping" hand of humans.
