An artist has carved a series of stunning facial sculptures – using the stones from AVOCADOS.
Art fanatic Jan Campbell scratches the intricate designs into the unique fruity material which she describes as the perfect blank canvas.
She now a huge collection of designs which she sells for more than £100-a-pop.
Jan, who creates the artwork under the name Avocado Stone Faces, said: “An avocado stone shares the characteristics of a dense wood.
“The stone will last for as long as you take care of it, by keeping it dry and treating it with additional oil or varnish when necessary.
“When worn as a pendant, the finish on the stone may be subjected to general wear and tear, as you can expect from any wooden pendant.”
Jan admitted she never previously paid attention to the stones in avocados but was struck by how beautiful they were while once cutting into a perfectly ripe fruit.
She said it dawned on her that she was ‘holding a substantial object’ in her hand, which had ‘a lot of potential’.
Jan, from County Mayo in Ireland, said: “It felt like a shame to just throw it into the compost.
“After deliberating over it for a few minutes, I wiped the stone clean and put it into the pocket of my raincoat.”
But after noticing the stone had become scratched, she grew intrigued as to the designs she could create.
She said: “:A deep orange pigment had filled the scratch. I felt overwhelmingly compelled to explore further.
“Maybe my reassuring pocket pet was actually inside the stone, waiting patiently for me to dig him out.”
Jan uses an assortment of craft tools to carve into the stones, describing it as an incredibly ‘satisfying activity.’
She says she’s now hooked on creating more faces, forcing her to regularly visit her local supermarket to buy more avocados.
The avocado stone faces can be bought on her Etsy site, where stones range from £70 to £130.
