Rock Shelter is an environmental artwork that pays tribute to the materials it’s made from and the place it resides. The sculpture stands unpretentiously on the verge of a Vermont hayfield; a solitary figure with its back to the wind and face lifted to the low winter sun. The only perceivable change in the work since its creation is the mottled patina that’s grown over it.
Read MoreMost of the works done in the dry stone trade take place without fanfare. They serve basic needs by establishing boundaries, buttressing slopes and moderating ascents. They’re experienced as well-functioning while being hardly noticed. In fact, one sign of a successful new project is that those using it feel that it must have always been there. That doesn’t mean that it can’t be a sight to behold. Functional stonework can be arrestingly beautiful, often the more so with age. Stonework, done right, proves its worth day after day, year after year. The expense is left behind while the value continues forward.
Read MoreWilliamsville is a village in the town of Newfane, Vermont, just three miles, as the crow flies, from my home in Dummerston. While we had little, or no, damage in our town from flooding in September, Irene devastated the Williamsville area. The Rock River rose 18’ above its normal level. A 200’ length of 5’ high dry stone retaining wall, built in the 19th century, as part of an extensive water-powered industrial site, was swallowed up in the torrent. When flood waters receded, the wall was no more. Only the largest stones escaped being swept downstream.
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