In referring to Sean Donnelley's latest creation, Eric Landman said "He's turned the dry stone world upside down!"
Having been given a Chalmers Arts Fellowship grant through the Ontario Arts Council grant to allow him to be able explore and execute some of his design ideas over the next year (with stones he will be creatively 'reassembling' in his workshop) Sean has indeed opened up a whole new dimension.
And what better man for the job? He's young and talented and has been pushing the boundaries of the craft already with his many inspiring walling projects. See The Wave
I went to visit Sean and see the upside-down wall yesterday and was suitably impressed. I had a good look at it from top to bottom.
It has all the correct proportions and features of a proper dry laid wall, with the added feature of it being carefully battered and built in reverse, to create a wonderful feeling of whimsy and irony.
I'm excited about what Sean will come up with next.
Sean is a professional certified instructor and has an advanced standing with the Dry Stone Wall Association of GB DSWAGB . Have a look at his website sdstone
I'm thinking building upside-down may well be the jumping off point for creating all sorts of new and unusual structures of stone.
I think I'll explore some of the possibilities tomorrow.
