Beauty Girl

My current project, "Beauty Girl", is a dry stone sculpture of a reclining female figure.  It's being constructed on the grounds of a residence in Connecticut.
Measurements from my 1/12th scale, clay model were transferred to a movable guide frame.

 Weights on lines determine the points that define the form. Vertically-set fieldstone is fashioned into the four blankets that robe the figure. Horizontally laid, carved marble slabs make up the figure's exposed portions. When finished, the sculpture will be 36' long x 14' wide x 5' 6" high.

 

 

Two Moongates

The moongate has traditionally been employed in garden and landscape settings as a symbolic threshold between worlds.

Mike Panos of Maywood, NJ recently sent me a photo of a moongate he constructed on his property. It was built with 7.5 tons of Pennsylvania Endless Mountain fieldstone.

In Rochester, NY Chuck Eblacker recently showed me a moongate (pictured above - top 2 images) he'd built into a curved section of wall, a difficult task beautifully conceived and executed.

Worksite Safety

There aren’t that many components in the creation of a dry stone wall. There are the stones and the land, of course. And the basic building principals that, when applied, add up to a strong and enduring structure. Once those elements are thoroughly understood and consistently brought together, what refinements can an experienced waller bring to his or her workplace?

One aspect to be explored is that of personal care and safety. You are your own best construction tool. Your body deserves the best working conditions you can provide.

Ask anyone who’s experienced back injury to trace the mishap back to its origins and you are likely to hear a story of lost footing.

Without a clear, level place to stand alongside the wall, the risks in lifting and shifting stone are compounded. It takes a consistent and concerted effort to keep a worksite in trim. Pathways through the stockpiles of stone need to be established and maintained.

Picture the entire workspace as a production facility and the waller’s immediate groundscape as the factory floor. The development of an attitude that places worksite safety high on the must-do list is an important step toward mastery of dry stone walling skills.

Still Mountain Center

I will be traveling to the Litchfield Hills area of Connecticut this coming weekend to present a program entitled "Evolving as an art maker through the medium of dry stone". The event is sponsored by the Still Mountain Center at their Annual Celebration Dinner in support of the arts.

Reception, dinner and program will be held at the historic Washington Club Hall in Washington, CT.  Please contact info@stillmountaincenter.org for more information.

"My art is a response to the call I get from the land to go outside and play. I gather up loose stones and tie them together with gravity and friction. There's nothing else I'd rather be doing."

Parmelee Farm Stone Wall Workshop

Thanks to organizers Michelle Becker and Andrew Pighills for inviting me to join them at the Parmelee Farm in Killingworth, CT for a 2-day stone wall workshop. Participants worked together to restore a section of wall.  Pictured above are Andrew and Michelle; a "before view" of a section of wall; the finished wall; along with a group photo of stone-enthusiasts Julia (stone-woman extraordinaire) McCurdy, Steve North, Ted Greiner, Andy Greiner, Michael Phillips, Richard Leng, Robert Slover, Bruce Harang, Keith Hoffer, Frank Tracano, Alison Peters, and John Tweed. Not pictured - but there in spirit - are Guido Liberatore, Edward Foote, Peter Griswold, and Marty Raffone. 

Well done every one - it's a beautiful wall!