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His web is something that many of us walk through and ignore every day, but Akie Nakata turns ordinary rocks into something people all over the world are clamoring for to give him money.
Nakata is based in Japan and has gained a legion of fans over the past few years – as well as a solid life – by creating detailed paintings of animals on stones that can fit in your palm. While creating these unique works of art, Nakata has rendered everything from dogs and cats to pigs, sheep and more exotic creatures, all with stunning clarity on simple stones.
Check out this Facebook photo of an owl she made in December, which sold out within seconds of posting it.
In the caption that accompanied this photo, Nakata – who calls herself Stone Artist Akie online, where she has over 89,000 followers on Facebook alone – wrote that the owl was sold at 10:01 a.m. after it was posted at 10 a.m. .
That’s pretty standard for Nakata, who revealed she was self-taught in a 2021 profile released by Forbes, as a quick glance at her Facebook page will show that virtually every piece she puts up for sale there. sell out in a minute. She doesn’t list selling prices in her posts, but Forbes reported making between $ 300 and $ 1,500 on various jobs.
Nakata recently announced that she is looking to keep production stable in 2022, with the goal of producing six to eight pieces per month for her rabid supporters to bid over the coming year. The post included a collage featuring some of his pieces.
Nakata’s process is as fascinating as the pieces she creates. She told Forbes that she collects the stones she uses along the riverbanks in Saitama, about 20 miles northwest of Tokyo. She said she never changes the shape or surface of the rocks and lets the boulder itself tell her which animal he wishes to display.
“I paint the animal that I feel is inside the stone, following the structure of the spine and the body that is visible on the stone,” Nakata told Forbes.
