Readers may well wonder “What’d it take?” when viewing images of the sunken garden space and surrounding hardscape I built last fall in Marlboro, Vermont. It was work done with skill, efficiency and pride, by me and a handful of compatriots. As with other stone endeavors, it required the marshaling of materials, equipment and craft.
Read MoreOver the years, experience taught me that not all my ideas work, but that the most risky ones, when they did, turned out to be the most rewarding. If I wanted the Odeon to be something special, I had to have faith. Architectural details from the church have informed the Odeon’s design. A seating arrangement of granite slabs, their surfaces speckled with iridescent mica like the church’s facade, are set atop retaining walls built in a matrix style that emulates that of faceted, stained-glass windows.
Read MoreThe 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 MoreHours and days of grinding labor culminate in a finished structure but somehow it’s the intermissions in the process that are remembered, the many cracks of light that shine through the monolith of physical exertion that is dry stone walling.
Read MoreEvery project has the treasure of time locked inside. The key to spending it wisely is to embrace the unknowns. Seek out and dwell on every moment’s mystery and the day’s toil will pass in a flash.
Read MoreI was invited to talk to the assembled guests about the built landscape. We led the group through the lush gardens, pausing to tell stories and answer questions. Any puzzlement on the faces of the visitors was completely understandable. Half of what we described was fiction; a historical ruse amplified by the very real existence of the dry stone curiosities I constructed there.
Read MoreBy expanding my repertoire to include other skilled practitioners of the craft I can now see how there’s nothing lost and much to be gained. The satisfaction of successfully completing a piece is shared by all, without any one having to do it all.
Read MoreGenerations of Vermont farmers have picked stones from their fields, to, in Robert Frost’s words, “subdue the growth of earth to grass.” In the 20th century, the diesel-powered bulldozer unearthed and shoved boulders up into huge, mid-field heaps. Three such mounds provided the stone for the walls I recently completed around the Big Red Barn in Winhall Hollow.
Read MoreIt was a simple enough question. How will excavation equipment get to the front of the house? That was the location of the intended project, but because of the side-hill terrain, it was a case of “you can’t get there from here.”
Read MoreRock 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 MoreFantasy Topography rose up out of the forest floor last April. It became an object of intrigue for some of the visitors who wandered off the beaten path that circles the museum grounds. The pine tree glade has now returned to its former life as a quiet, shady glen. With all that passes, ours is the choice to hold in memory or let slip away.
Read MoreMovement is critical for getting into the moment, for being of a time and in a place. Perhaps the best thing an artist can offer a viewer is the chance to become a little more aware of themselves. Outdoor art spaces hold the potential for that to happen.
A recent special event at the Shelburne Museum drew a large crowd on a perfect summer evening. I was there to welcome visitors to Fantasy Topography, my temporary, environmental art installation in a pine grove on the grounds. It was great to see lots of people walking around and in the sculpture. Many thanks to those who stopped by to chat, and to the staff for all they do to make an enjoyable time for those attending the museum’s once-a-month, Free Friday.
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 MoreTo be in touch and in tune with nature has a centering effect on us. Couple the outdoors with a creative pursuit, and engagement with both is enriched because together they sharpen and heighten our spatial orientation. My environmental art piece Fantasy Topography seeks to bring pleasure to the core.
Read MoreWhat was the first public structure built to safeguard harmony in early agricultural communities? Who were the hog reeves and why were they sometimes recently married, young men? What did impecunious pound-brechers do to deserve 30 lashes? These questions and more will be answered during a program I’ll be giving at the Dummerston Historical Society’s quarterly meeting Thursday July 18th at 7:30 pm. I hope you’ll join me for an evening exploring the history of Dummerston’s town pound and take a walk around the dry stone pound, erected ten years ago, next to the Historical Society building.
Read MoreA belief set in the mind of many beginner dry stone wallers is that a wall is what it looks like on the outside, when it actually is what is not seen, on the inside. To accept a wall stone at face value is to believe that what shows is most of what that stone is, but in a well built wall, most is concealed, securely trapped inside the construction.
Read MoreThe studio has been filling up with rocky toppers this winter. The half-products are elements in a sculpture to be installed as part of a new outdoor exhibition at Shelburne Museum. The uniquely shaped objects will be arranged atop berms of loose stone. The completed piece will sprawl across the floor of a pine forest, flowing between and around the tree trunks.
Read MoreThe 2017 work year was a variety-pack of projects and travels bringing rocks and people together. Projects from 2017 now lie nestled in snow, while projects for 2018 are already underway.
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