The Living Rock Studios

 A former surveyor and forester for a local lumber mill, artist Howard B. Taylor began his 'love letter to Oregon' in 1975, with found rock of jade, agate, petrified wood, geodes, sandstone, and many other varieties of minerals and fossils.

Along with family and volunteers, Howard was able to construct a two-story structure built entirely from local rocks. Plans for the building started in the 1960s and the project was finally completed on October 13th, 1985 - the date of Howard and wife Faye''s 50th anniversary. Inside the building, a spiraling rock staircase winds around its support structure - a petrified wood sculpture called the "Tree of Life.

Visitors to Living Rock Studios can see hundreds of artifacts from the family collections, including Oregon minerals and fossils, various bird paintings by Howard, pioneer memorabilia, fiber arts, wood carvings, and some Native American artifacts that were donated to the museum. What really draws the crowds, though, are the Living Rock Pictures - the Living Rock Pictures resemble stained glass windows, but are made entirely from thin slices of rock. When cut right, stones like agates, marble, chalcedony, agatized wood, and obsidian display different colors and patterns, which Howard used to depict Biblical stories in his pictures. When lit from behind, these pictures become a truly marvelous display.