Stone Workshop July 5th

Sunny skies, slight breezes and perfect temperatures graced a great day of wall building. Dan is pictured above with participants Garet McIntyre, Matt Buzerak and Melanie Grubman. After a hard day's work, the recreated livestock pound in Dummerston Center is one day closer to completion. The next workshop is in October. Contact Great River Arts Institute to register. Feel free to contact Dan directly for details about the next workshop.

Beauty Girl: a dry stone sculpture in progress

Beauty Girl is a 34’ x 8’ x 5’ 6” dry stone construction to be installed on the grounds of a private residence in southern Connecticut late in 2009. Two types of stone, and two distinct building methods, comprise the work. Exposed portions of the reclining female figure are made up of carved marble slabs, laid horizontally. Four thick robes, draped over the figure, are made up of fieldstone, laid vertically. Portions of the figure’s back, arm, head and legs are visible where the robes part. Subtle elevation changes occur in the fieldstone surface where the robes cross over one another.

I made a 1” = 1’ scale model of the sculpture in clay. 1,200 points on the sculpture surface, relative to grid points on a plane above the model, were measured and recorded. Those numbers were transferred to the full-scale guide frame that will be used on site. Steel weights, suspended on fish line, will guide the height of the finished stonework.

Because it is figurative, Beauty Girl is a departure from the abstract environmental art pieces I’ve been doing in recent years. It‘s not exactly something new to me, though. With this piece I’m very pleased to be revisiting my early, art making years, when I did a lot of figure drawing and portrait painting.

Stone Wall Building Workshop July 5

A 1-day stone walling workshop will be held this Sunday the 5th in Dummerston Center from 9 am - 4 pm. Please contact Dan or Great River Arts Institute for details. Same day registration is possible, if you decide at the last minute to join us. The 1-day workshop fee is $150.

Please bring:
Personal stoneworking tools - there will be some tools available
Gloves
Safety glasses
Sun/bug stuff
Re-use mug
Water and water bottle - we'll have extra water but no drinking cups
Bag lunch - we recommend bringing it with you - a mid-day drive from the workhop site to a deli can be time consuming

Please bring your own hot and cold drink mugs/bottles - in an effort to save $ and the environment - we will not have paper drink cups available.

We will provide morning coffee and a snack.
Please bring your own lunch with you.

Pre-registered DSWA test candidates may join the workshop to practice for Monday's test day.

See you on Sunday.

A sunny Saturday afternoon, friends and music on Rice mountain to benefit the Yellow Barn Music School - and an opportunity to play among the stones and explore the spectacular gardens.

Newfoundland in August - Dry Stone Walling Workshop

The rugged coastline of Newfoundland will be the backdrop for a dry stone walling workshop August 10 - 14, 2009. Join us for a week long adventure in some of Canada’s finest stone country. English Harbour Arts Association will host the event on the grounds of the Fishers’ Loft Inn.
Contact Jack Stanley at jstanley@bellnet.ca for information.

Listening to Stone Book Reading Tonight

Dan will read from his new book, Listening to Stone, tonight at Brown Dog Books in Hinesburg, VT

Please contact Natacha at 802-482-5189 for more info.

Hope to see you there.