Parmelee Farm Stone Wall Workshop

Heading to the Parmelee Farm in Killingworth , CT this weekend. 

Andrew Pighills and I will be instructing a workshop on the art of dry stone wall building. Please contact Michelle Becker at 860-322-0060 or mb@beckerco.com for more information.

Scott Farm Stone Wall Workshop

Folks traveled to Dummerston from all around the Northeast and as far away as Kentucky and New Brunswick, Canada for two days of dry stone walling. Heavy rains (4"!) didn't dampen the spirits of our intrepid group on Saturday. A dozen workshop participants made good headway despite the mud.

By Sunday morning the sun came out and the stones dried off, making it a perfect autumn day for walling. Besides completing a smart looking length of restoration work on the Scott Farm wall, participants tried their hand at splitting granite using "feathers and wedges." Grateful appreciation to all for making the weekend a rousing success.

GRAI Scott Farm Stone Workshop 10/24-25

Fifteen people are registered for the upcoming two day, hands-on workshop. The setting is along-side a quiet road overlooking the orchards of Scott Farm in Dummerston, VT. A one-hundred year old wall in derelict condition will be examined for its structural qualities, dismantled and rebuilt.

Participants will be given one-on-one instruction by Dan Snow and Jared Flynn. The workshop is sponsored by the Great River Arts Institute. For directions and questions, please contact Kristen at openart@greatriverarts.org, 802-463-3330 or 802-896-6898. Directions to the workshop site at 255 Dutton Farm Road can be found here.

Pre-registered participants should bring:

Water and water bottle

Hot drink mug

Bag lunch

Eye protection/safety glasses

Gloves

Rain gear (in case!)

Sturdy work boots

Tools - if you have them: any personal stoneworking tools - hammer, prybar, etc. - there will be some tools available

Snacks and drinks will be provided. Let's hope for sunny weather!

DSWA Certification Scheme Testing

For many dry stone enthusiasts in the Northeast, projects are winding down and tools are being put away for the winter.

The finale for the season for some is DSWA Certification Scheme testing. Over the past two weekends I've examined applicants taking Level 1, 2 and 3 tests.

Pictured is Curtis Gray, with me and examiner Dave Goulder from Rosehall, Scotland. 

Curtis passed his Initial. 

Jared Flynn passed his Advanced test. Pictured is his curved wall and lunky hole set pieces. And retaining wall timed test piece. 

Congratulations to all successful candidates.

The dry stone walling festival in Grand Valley, Ontario that took place over the Canadian Thanksgiving weekend was well attended by walling enthusiasts from far and wide.

Thirty fearless folk braved wind and cold to participate in the workshops. Eric Landman, DeanMcLellan and their families did a fabulous job of bringing it all together for us. Patrick McAfee from Ireland and Norman Haddow from Scotland offered workshops in their regional styles.

I instructed a two day workshop in the DSWA of Great Britain set standard wall, or as Patrick refers to it, the "international" wall.

Stone Hang Dogs

My discovery of some unusual limestone formations in the countryside around Manhattan, Kansas inspired the idea of using a dry stone construction to feature a pair of naturally perforated, odd shaped rocks. 

Suspended in the narrow slots between wall sections of the sculpture are two "hang dogs." I found them in a dry creek bed on the property of my hosts, Rod Harms and Stephanie Rolley. The completed piece can bee seen through the Bird Archway at the entrance of the Beach Art Museum.

Kansas Sculpture

My K-State artist residency is coming to a close.

A huge thank you to Professor Katie Kingery-Page for putting the pieces together to make it all happen. And to Katie's husband Lindsay Smith, Beach Art Museum Exhibitions Designer, my grateful appreciation for keeping us supplied with tools and equipment.

Pictured above, Professor Lorn Clement, Emily and Becky working on the piece. Professor Katie Kingery-Page and I inspecting. Local dry stone waller Rocky Slaymaker joined us for the day. Lindsay Smith, tool master.

Kansas Sculpture

The two east wall sections begin to take shape.

An open house at the Beach Museum, today, Sunday October 4th 1 - 3 pm, will feature a display of the architecture student's designs of dry-laid stone sculptures. The students - Russell Ploutz, Kirby Barett, Jon Ryan, Emily King, Laura Weatherholt, Alli Gerth, Lee Adams, Ben Carlson, Kyle Ward, Becky Ingram and Krystal Schuette - have been collaborating in the design process and construction of the site-specific piece.

Lee Bryant Memorial Lecture - Limits = Potential

I was honored to be the 23rd presenter of the annual College of Architecture, Planning and Design's Lee A Bryant Memorial Lecture Series. The lecture series is a living tribute to Bryant's passion for art and the vital interaction of art and architecture.  

Thanks to the excellent and thorough preparations made by museum staff and Lorne Render, Director of the Beach Museum of Art, the room was full to overflowing for my lecture. Thanks also to Lynne Bryant, widow of Lee and Dean Tim de Noble, for their introductions, and to Prof Katie Kingery-Page for her work in organizing my residency.

Lynne traveled from Houston, TX with her husband Jim Beasley to attend the event. They are pictured above on a visit to the sculpture site adjacent to the museum.

Kansas - Scholar Stone

The installation and placement of the Scholar Stone.

Kansas - Landscape and Art

The west wall portion of the sculpture has been brought up through the foundation course with doubling and through-stones. Yesterday the second lift was finished and the coping started. It is wonderful to have the opportunity to work with the students from Prof. Katie Kingery-Page's studio class - Landscape and Art. Students have participated in the collaborative design and installation of the piece, including site inventory and analysis, drawing and digital graphics, models, project management, and dry-stone construction. It has been especially enjoyable to have lunch and conversation with small groups of students at the Bluemont Cafe.