The recent 2-Day Cheek Rebuild workshop that I instructed saw four enthusiastic participants complete their own free-standing cheekend, achieving personal satisfaction from work well done, and a certificate from The Stone Trust, to boot! Congrats to Darrin, Lou, David and Jonny for rising to the challenge.
Read MoreSince I’ve only been on the receiving end of interview questions I don’t know how they’re properly crafted but I can tell when they have been. A good interviewer opens a door and asks the subject to step into their own world. I was pleased to be asked by Tom Christopher to be interviewed for his podcast Growing Greener.
Nothing begins without looking back, so, to get 2019 started, I’m taking stock of 2018’s doings.
Thanks for following along. Now, let’s get this new year rockin!
While there remain, across New England, examples of stream-vaulting bridges built more than 100 years ago, the builders of those spans have long since left us. That’s why it’s particularly poignant that The Stone Trust’s recent tour of historic dry stone bridges coincided with the construction of a new one.
Read MoreIt must be said, “The Stone Trust Has It All.” That’s the conclusion I came away with after spending the weekend instructing a Features Workshop there. Not only were the participants an enthusiastic group of talented individuals, the panels they created display the wide variety of possibilities that dry stone offers.
Read MoreMonday was all business at the Stone Trust center. Eleven candidates for Dry Stone Walling Association of Great Britain certificates put their heads down and applied themselves to the task of walling. The seven hour test required stripping out and rebuilding sections of 5’ high free-standing and retaining wall. Most candidates were successful in achieving the level of certification they were striving for.
Read MoreOn Friday, the Stone Trust workshop organizer, Jared Flynn, was overjoyed by the prospect of rain for Saturday morning. Having produced many dry stone workshops alongside Dutton Farm Road in Dummerston, Vermont over the past three years he knew what the makings of a classic weekend looked like. It starts out damp and dreary. By noon the rain stops and the orchard view appears in the valley. On Sunday morning pale skies turn blue and Mount Monadnock crowns the horizon line of distant hills. And so it was this year for fifteen stalwart participants. Saturday’s drizzle made way for Sunday’s sun.
Read MoreWho pays good money to do hard labor on their weekend off? Are they a bunch of nuts? No, they’re two dozen good eggs who joined in on The Stone Trust’s dry stone walling workshop. Lead by DSWA instructors Andrew Pighills, Brian Post and me, they studiously applied the rules they learned for wall building and restored a long stretch of fence (originally constructed one hundred years ago by ten Italian masons) to its former glory. Thanks to all for a great weekend of walling.
Read MoreAfter the tragic events to our south in Boston at the start of last week it was heartening to end it on Saturday with a positive note. Nine candidates came to The Stone Trust facility at Scott Farm for DSWA craftsman certification tests. After seven hours of intense walling activity, passing marks were awarded to Level 1 and 3 participants by the DSWA examiners; myself and Chris Tanguay. Candidates came from Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, Pennsylvania and Newfoundland, Canada to test their dry stone construction skills against what are recognized to be among the most rigorous standards found anywhere in the world. Congratulations to all!
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