Yet I usually think about how to improve on
nature's work by forcing it onto my lathe. This is about nature's art...

Arch, I never ceases to amaze me how you manage to create a difficult situation
only to then find yourself confused and perplexed by your own invention. You
bang yourself in the noggin with a mallet and then wonder about the mallet's
intention or the source of your headaches.

Here, I'll help you untangle your Gordian knot before you gag on it. Nature
doesn't make art. Only sentient beings create works of artist endeavor. Nature
does, on occasion and purely by accident, create unusual shapes, colors, and
textures that us artistic types appreciate. Go to any artist's home and you'll
find the windowsills filled with found objects. Some of them created by nature,
others by man.

Some artists use these found objects exclusively in their artwork. Others use
none at all, preferring to use raw materials delivered in bulk instead. Most
artists have incorporated found objects in their artwork at one time or another.
It's no big deal no matter how Arch spins it. (no pun intended)

Dan