Show THE NEW ART OF MAKIN6 SAND PICTURES The Wonderful Skill of W S OBrien of Iowa who Weaves Beautiful Pictures in Bottles from the Many Colored Sands of the Pictured Rocks > Sioux City Jan IS Among the countless developments of the arts which this country and Its boundless possibilities have evolved and one oC the most novel which has yet come to i the notice of the public Is the making of bottled sand pictures from the pictured I pic-tured rocks of Iowa I The Idea that an artistic hand can I I create from particles of sand a beautiful I ful picture depleting perfectly a view I j t > tJ a I 1 f I t i I I From photograph I I Many will not believe it is the close packing and not glue which produces I pro-duces the wonderful result so OBrio n breaks a bottle and proves it of natural scenery In all the beauty of Its real coloring seems to the mind at first to be preposterous When it is furthermore added that no glue is used to hold the minute and easily shifted particles together aid that when once prosed tight In the bottle the picture will not disintegrate even with the roughest handling It makes the story yet more marvelous and well nigh Incredible When I first heard of the work which W S OBrien was doing I frankly admit ad-mit having believed that Mr OBrien wa a myth and his work the result of some spare time ori the part of an Imaginative reporter Now Mint I have seen the man and the pictures of Bourse I think differently differ-ently und wonder only how one can have so deft a hand as to execute such marvelously arl1lic workmanship with such simple and crude tools Mr OBrien modestly says I cannot can-not claim to hae been the originator of this unique and fascinating art for it was really developed by Andrew Clemens the deaf mute but following In his steps I have made many beautiful beauti-ful pictures which are now scattered throughout the country and In the possession pos-session of private Individuals 1 have not made a business of the work having had another calling which furnished a livelihood Any success that I may have won Is due to the Inspiration derived from the marvelous accomplishments of Mr Clemens J To begin with the sand which I have used has not been ordinary sand but Is a special kind obtained from the pictured pic-tured rocks In the vicinity of McGregor These rocks form a canyon between cliffs about 100 feet high facing on thu Mississippi river The formation of these rocks is massive running back several miles from the river The colors 1 col-ors In some places are In regular layers and In others mottled and variegated most fantastically A cascade at the head of the ravine causes dampness and lichens soon grow over the exposed faces of the rocks hiding many beautl lul color effects and substituting many beauties of their own The colors In the I rocks are caused by waters llowlng from the mineral deposits I In glacial times when the rest of the country was planed off a skip > seems to have occurred about here and a strip about 200 miles north and south by about lIlLy miles wide left standing j in pristine ruggedness through tho I center of which flows the Mississippi rivel There are Immense dcposjts of I lend zinc and iron in this region as I well as strong Indications of copper and I I quicksilver H It Is necessary to explain this formation r forma-tion that the peculiarity of the sand I manipulated may be properly understood under-stood Having secured my sand I proceed I to place it In the bottle layer upon layer and with very simple tools work In the designs or letters required While the sand Is being placed in the bottle the latter Is held at varying angles According to the law of gravitation I gravi-tation the picture cannot bo worked In from the back or sides as will he understood un-derstood I i The sand is placed In the bottle ncr 1 fectly dry and I often have difficulty I I In convincing persons who hne not I seen It done that no glue or oil has t been used to make the grains adhcaro I I I to their proper positions In order to prove that nothing Is used but the I sand I have before now broken a bottle bot-tle and destroyed the picture j This is not the only way In which I i bottles get broken however Quite of I 1 ten In pressing the sand down tight which process requires much care the I bottle breaks it being absolutely necessary neces-sary to have the sands as tightly packed as they will go and on the other hand impossible to gauge tho strength of the glass After the bottle I is properly filled and scaled down It will stand any amount ot shaking and can be transported anywhere Moreover More-over the colors ot the picture will never fade not having been dimmed by the use of oil water or spirits they maintain main-tain all the pristine brightness of their hues I have up to the present time secured se-cured thritythrec shades In Bands and expect to get more yet The number of shades used naturally varies with the picture produced Some of the work that I have done represents the natural scenery of the neighborhood neighbor-hood One represents a waterfall and others are of similar pastoral subjects Words are sometimes worked in to produce pro-duce odd effects and Just whatever I thing any one wants produced Mr W S OBrien is I the eldest son of Michael OBrien lie was born In 185S and Is a young man of musical and artistic ar-tistic tastes He is a benedict and has n ivlfo nnrl thn > children Mr OBrien Is I manager of the Western West-ern Union Telegraph company at Mc C4rogor la and formerly resided In Sioux City All I can tell you about myself said Mr OBrien is that I love our everlasting hills and beautiful river and want the world to know more about Iowa the Indian name for beautiful landThe I The Pictured Rocks Jis a place of great historical Interest for here first rested the gaze of the Intrepid Pere Marquette when ho canoed down the Wisconsin river and discovered the Mississippi Mis-sissippi the llrst white man to set foot on the soil of what Is now the great State of Iowa |