tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4417172900327475112024-03-15T16:47:01.332-04:00Thinking With My HandsA companion to Dry Stone Walling Across CanadaJohn Shaw-Rimmingtonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13895554934613575227noreply@blogger.comBlogger3102125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-441717290032747511.post-79664889365049603942024-03-15T16:34:00.007-04:002024-03-15T16:46:28.560-04:00What to do with the whites.<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWsuXZ4oMwZppBwX24ixxqdNw-56UIqU72rYZPEc0ZywZQqHpu8-jh4-Xeh7cBOQ4vSyjsaSocg6pELFqWo7DQgg02Jz2y8NxK3_cyVw6N9fOjudTV3ncMHK1EGZRlHF6Ecp9IqDAwqgn1rOgP-yC_VoytIEO3x_DBMBOI2NVIvfqz4wflG2ucfcot9ib7/s4032/IMG_4046.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="494" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWsuXZ4oMwZppBwX24ixxqdNw-56UIqU72rYZPEc0ZywZQqHpu8-jh4-Xeh7cBOQ4vSyjsaSocg6pELFqWo7DQgg02Jz2y8NxK3_cyVw6N9fOjudTV3ncMHK1EGZRlHF6Ecp9IqDAwqgn1rOgP-yC_VoytIEO3x_DBMBOI2NVIvfqz4wflG2ucfcot9ib7/w659-h494/IMG_4046.jpeg" width="659" /></a></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">The dark gritty oatmeal textured fieldstone granite distributed across the rolling landscape here in Virginia is peppered with a beautiful salt-coloured quartzite material. In some places in Rappahannock County these stark white rocks make up about twenty percent of the usable material for building dry stone walls. The question presents itself : What do we do with it ? Does it look good randomly dotted in the walls. Sometimes not. From a distance it can look like wet plastic shopping bags having blown across the fields, all got hung up on the walls. This is usually not a satisfying look.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi32bp2Xk4kFn-j6oDhqmkYpDjAAVq-z12tGyeTnn5USH8XfBFagtZ3TBovJBOn07EbbNnfeNrjXH7MNKNxfa3XQhCx80UFkFV2cbkZE3avUqx_2bloobRnHqvFFVh6gMgDfPiCWKQRhyBfq6RxRXTuzKMPl5YvUAjTdxJIZSwNx_4_oX2sskfNTW7ZbTY4/s4032/IMG_4151.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="356" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi32bp2Xk4kFn-j6oDhqmkYpDjAAVq-z12tGyeTnn5USH8XfBFagtZ3TBovJBOn07EbbNnfeNrjXH7MNKNxfa3XQhCx80UFkFV2cbkZE3avUqx_2bloobRnHqvFFVh6gMgDfPiCWKQRhyBfq6RxRXTuzKMPl5YvUAjTdxJIZSwNx_4_oX2sskfNTW7ZbTY4/w475-h356/IMG_4151.jpeg" width="475" /></span></a></div><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">If we are intent on using all the stones available, including the white quartzite, there are several imaginative solutions to the problem. One wall I’ve seen here incorporates the white rocks by creating random belts of coursed white rocks worked into the mix.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">'<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLoyI7Ycr9Q1Mvh65AZ2Bhqkko7-VfV94do6JW_BqwK6MEvjqIRXNo9NXskAA4g2-XoyYKS_ps-VNW-2CtQFjx0C97xMvUFAhJsqRYPyilN3rNWBwFP100hU2KfpT8MBeYTjxDrgSwRmlVlExlU7IoRFSENch-h7TjpgiLLHBgcLX_IBadF6qrQ0jh2UlM/s4032/IMG_4054.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLoyI7Ycr9Q1Mvh65AZ2Bhqkko7-VfV94do6JW_BqwK6MEvjqIRXNo9NXskAA4g2-XoyYKS_ps-VNW-2CtQFjx0C97xMvUFAhJsqRYPyilN3rNWBwFP100hU2KfpT8MBeYTjxDrgSwRmlVlExlU7IoRFSENch-h7TjpgiLLHBgcLX_IBadF6qrQ0jh2UlM/s320/IMG_4054.jpeg" width="240" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkP84rZ0In6tzzExpgCM8dRvvZllpe_wL8qgS2su6NBykMv04Bre93n9KR0mxoQyiYcY8x8NPC0c6n85nRm6prXb3yPsknpaJvhmLKTFbvpkJMfe7CsdZYUUuKwGat9T4ngvoDg6vvn0mENYyB5OLCr5Lmsrw6h9VTGu8CupabrAqKVWe3TYFkRhmpruAG/s4032/IMG_4053.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"> <img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkP84rZ0In6tzzExpgCM8dRvvZllpe_wL8qgS2su6NBykMv04Bre93n9KR0mxoQyiYcY8x8NPC0c6n85nRm6prXb3yPsknpaJvhmLKTFbvpkJMfe7CsdZYUUuKwGat9T4ngvoDg6vvn0mENYyB5OLCr5Lmsrw6h9VTGu8CupabrAqKVWe3TYFkRhmpruAG/s320/IMG_4053.jpeg" width="320" /></a></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Another idea involves using the white material strictly for the tops of the walls.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYqqBqjaa0grBNbo2Y2zqAqzPCRGdMpR6liR2t5VwJI6G4zoeP6_awDdj7xkHHADjI1cspOImw4kq9XF_J4YbD6hy8OBahGhFd9HNsvWK1Cs6USsAWDuXs7bcNLHhfoj7ZsaJZs2tp2KOAL8tiyrioNf4Ff6-bKhr2_sc5EpZtt4dGDVvjGMUf5b_e4-AK/s4032/IMG_4153.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYqqBqjaa0grBNbo2Y2zqAqzPCRGdMpR6liR2t5VwJI6G4zoeP6_awDdj7xkHHADjI1cspOImw4kq9XF_J4YbD6hy8OBahGhFd9HNsvWK1Cs6USsAWDuXs7bcNLHhfoj7ZsaJZs2tp2KOAL8tiyrioNf4Ff6-bKhr2_sc5EpZtt4dGDVvjGMUf5b_e4-AK/s320/IMG_4153.jpeg" width="320" /></span></a></div><p></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBFJoIN5kfk16FITC2A0xjZ4yJUR1GK8t2VMrkSCO7Se_oCeUwJRjnEb6x-gMomKPedav5tG4EMRV1WGDUZXRzuISfeQhKCZg-yzVaNaOhSjGPzTQ8URlCnbUZKzA_Fy0NlphvDMCkHgrxvV1m849UF-3dmVY1TCaFwoH2AxAQWLHB1BEXz6ps_mipACJS/s4032/IMG_4152.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBFJoIN5kfk16FITC2A0xjZ4yJUR1GK8t2VMrkSCO7Se_oCeUwJRjnEb6x-gMomKPedav5tG4EMRV1WGDUZXRzuISfeQhKCZg-yzVaNaOhSjGPzTQ8URlCnbUZKzA_Fy0NlphvDMCkHgrxvV1m849UF-3dmVY1TCaFwoH2AxAQWLHB1BEXz6ps_mipACJS/s320/IMG_4152.jpeg" width="320" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">One outbuilding I came across in my bike ride had dark stones making up the whole the west side and used all lighter coloured quartzite rocks for the east wall.</span><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Whatever the case, the building material we wallers choose to use is not purchased at some big box building supply store. It’s not manufactured cookie-cutter, all one size, one colour stuff. No it is sourced locally by hunter gatherers like ourselves who are thankful for such abundance of diversified natural material however it comes. We appreciate, and take seriously the challenge of, being able to accommodate its diversity of colour and shape, and happy enough to put it all to good use. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">I think there is a parable here somewhere.</span><div><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><br /></p></div></div>John Shaw-Rimmingtonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13895554934613575227noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-441717290032747511.post-78721344236891694762024-03-13T07:44:00.010-04:002024-03-13T07:48:15.184-04:00The time has come<p> ..</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">_<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMt6UdyVGGP4T7DggpiScK2CcGDBO-6hAVwRJlw13fDklubp9FVCq9_7Pbs23fn6m8ho6q_y9-f6F9LBskVLFYLOIV8M8NzN4UTPMNaozgeAjM51g3KlQ0yXwDJuN5GbJ3fe-_tevF7kGA0ePlxAXcv4o_zGfdEF2SM_JW0pQzQp1uf1LoPPgCLeX2EFJL/s2215/IMG_3488.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1747" data-original-width="2215" height="485" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMt6UdyVGGP4T7DggpiScK2CcGDBO-6hAVwRJlw13fDklubp9FVCq9_7Pbs23fn6m8ho6q_y9-f6F9LBskVLFYLOIV8M8NzN4UTPMNaozgeAjM51g3KlQ0yXwDJuN5GbJ3fe-_tevF7kGA0ePlxAXcv4o_zGfdEF2SM_JW0pQzQp1uf1LoPPgCLeX2EFJL/w616-h485/IMG_3488.jpeg" width="616" /></a></div> <p></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p class="p2" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 26.7px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 26.69px;">The time has come </span></p><p class="p2" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 26.7px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 26.69px;">The wallers said</span></p><p class="p2" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 26.7px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 26.69px;">To talk of different states, </span></p><p class="p2" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 26.7px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 26.69px;">Of shale and schist, and surface cracks</span></p><p class="p2" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 26.7px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 26.69px;">And amethyst and slates</span></p><p class="p2" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 26.7px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 26.69px;">And why debris forms mountain scree</span></p><p class="p2" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 26.7px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 26.69px;">And why the earth has plates.</span></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 26.7px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 33.7px;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 26.69px;"></span><br /></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 26.7px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 33.7px;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 26.69px;"></span><br /></p><p class="p2" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 26.7px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 26.69px;">They spoke of sub-atomic mass</span></p><p class="p2" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 26.7px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 26.69px;">Of particles and strings,</span></p><p class="p2" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 26.7px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 26.69px;">Of quantum leaps and isotopes</span></p><p class="p2" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 26.7px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 26.69px;">And earth's magnetic rings.</span></p><p class="p2" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 26.7px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 26.69px;">And after that they took some stones </span></p><p class="p2" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 26.7px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 26.69px;">And built some arty things .</span></p>John Shaw-Rimmingtonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13895554934613575227noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-441717290032747511.post-45634193008558784232024-03-09T22:12:00.000-05:002024-03-09T22:12:49.053-05:00There is A story here<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVaspbjk5CfYlwFt_lneia94FxSYICwLStAbEZGGS7QcOTVmeqnTNypohY3U0o5XMszm1H-JEiE41dtE0GNeew7IzsZSocPNFoQ6FzB4-SGAIYMOQxCLcpncXFgcC6EhKdYKCh3dVMeyhenSwGeygmP9YwBCtbiFBnolVIeF4ppZ3pvToBGzYWfw5jWw0-/s4032/IMG_4060.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVaspbjk5CfYlwFt_lneia94FxSYICwLStAbEZGGS7QcOTVmeqnTNypohY3U0o5XMszm1H-JEiE41dtE0GNeew7IzsZSocPNFoQ6FzB4-SGAIYMOQxCLcpncXFgcC6EhKdYKCh3dVMeyhenSwGeygmP9YwBCtbiFBnolVIeF4ppZ3pvToBGzYWfw5jWw0-/s320/IMG_4060.jpeg" width="240" /></a></span><br /><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-large; text-align: left;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-large; text-align: left;">There is a story here. </span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-large;">There are Many stories here. Some are made up . Some are partially true based on who’s telling the story. Some of the stories incorporate things imagined in our dreams.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-large; text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">We’ve been here before . We respond to the image and try to understand the story that is implied. The point is there are many stories here . There isn’t ‘THE Story‘. THE story is just A story. It could be a good one or a bad one, a clever one or a crazy one, a new one or an old one. It is just another story .</div></span></div><p></p>John Shaw-Rimmingtonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13895554934613575227noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-441717290032747511.post-666735732169671452024-03-02T17:56:00.001-05:002024-03-02T17:56:59.932-05:00Rocks of Ages<p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkk4yR6cXWDve26QNawPvlD9-1z9Sbx-EBaG04XeY153QJSGyS02XSQuvqPX98go_UKgX5eG7RxfHCQn32_NW2e5_kqeAvBbynrhRZX2c5Jypg6jr1bmM0jLBjTphqjTQBbFQuFsFVR8tx5mT7YCkDL4HG4Czoqatw6efG2hcIYj9-BFl4ZO4YSseLByYj/s1253/granite%20.HEIC" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1088" data-original-width="1253" height="410" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkk4yR6cXWDve26QNawPvlD9-1z9Sbx-EBaG04XeY153QJSGyS02XSQuvqPX98go_UKgX5eG7RxfHCQn32_NW2e5_kqeAvBbynrhRZX2c5Jypg6jr1bmM0jLBjTphqjTQBbFQuFsFVR8tx5mT7YCkDL4HG4Czoqatw6efG2hcIYj9-BFl4ZO4YSseLByYj/w592-h410/granite%20.HEIC" width="592" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-large;">A rock, when it gets employed in a dry laid wall, becomes a 'stone'. It now has a job. An employed stone can be any colour, shape, type of material or religious persuasion, and more importantly it can be any...any <i>age</i>.</span></p><p><br /></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-large;">The newer aged stones, ( usually taken from a freshly quarried source) we like to call toddlers.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-large;">Yes, it may seem wrong to put young toddler rocks to work, but then they really are already, millions of years old! The geological material they have broken off from has had plenty of time to form . It's just that having been recently extracted from the bedrock, they've not had a lot of exposure to the elements yet, so their 'character' has not really had time to develop.</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPGANHF2BH3q4vVPMRFxgr2ZqHRJdiPxnsGFQjFvmt8W0Z54rfBiDpDmnXW5OdENM9FhsyEmXzIYxYC2RNpqNiQbmCK_Xu8Oc2vPupSppktvc9n874hoiQNr3cDO-hNKLxkxvBkq8eQ8gtuL-eG7ZESsKXGZw4iE2BWOqvDoyDOc60esz6Q0QXe0xM-jnZ/s3648/quarried%20limestone%20wall%20.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2056" data-original-width="3648" height="338" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPGANHF2BH3q4vVPMRFxgr2ZqHRJdiPxnsGFQjFvmt8W0Z54rfBiDpDmnXW5OdENM9FhsyEmXzIYxYC2RNpqNiQbmCK_Xu8Oc2vPupSppktvc9n874hoiQNr3cDO-hNKLxkxvBkq8eQ8gtuL-eG7ZESsKXGZw4iE2BWOqvDoyDOc60esz6Q0QXe0xM-jnZ/w600-h338/quarried%20limestone%20wall%20.jpg" width="600" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-large;">In a wall they may look too new, too uninteresting, or worse, too brash or too sure of themselves. Their sharp, freshly hewn faces don't possess that patient beauty and calm humility that only comes with time. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-large;">After a while, at a certain age, newly quarried material changes from young 'ado-lesstones' through puberty to full grown adults. They begin to have character. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGcfggg44opTMx31zcuuE500wlrhYSYrA6NwnSQCS9dAnEBuAIsnKw7ItAuOWVFLtmUkqTJxHoIpOe8bWbRHnP0InKUzLIAwfKdhwu9CLIgPhDU_LQhtkAerBs4ELOXB810Hju1LT3VJAUop1gdiPOPjxlgLOgkZiU86ufFQLQiVCgE88VHkK8lRo1YD6Y/s4000/Im%20lichen%20that%20patina.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3000" data-original-width="4000" height="479" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGcfggg44opTMx31zcuuE500wlrhYSYrA6NwnSQCS9dAnEBuAIsnKw7ItAuOWVFLtmUkqTJxHoIpOe8bWbRHnP0InKUzLIAwfKdhwu9CLIgPhDU_LQhtkAerBs4ELOXB810Hju1LT3VJAUop1gdiPOPjxlgLOgkZiU86ufFQLQiVCgE88VHkK8lRo1YD6Y/w638-h479/Im%20lichen%20that%20patina.jpg" width="638" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-large;">As they pass from the awkward ages, they maybe start to grow lichen or moss and develop interesting textures. In a wall they will all start to have what is called a 'patina'.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-large;">It will take time, but the pre'Patin-Agers' will eventually become as experienced, and look as aesthetically attractive as their wizened elders.</span></p>John Shaw-Rimmingtonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13895554934613575227noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-441717290032747511.post-45490894167430750772024-03-01T16:45:00.018-05:002024-03-01T16:45:00.130-05:00Cyclelogically noticing the conversations between positive and negative space <p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='662' height='550' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dx3ZNoWbU-LMOZL_xbvbnKffkBUxlWKMa3Kft4ghng_4C10H3SBBj-IJVUbgtnuCAf63GxfW0hvAgYwQZwudQ' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><br /><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-large;"> </span><p></p>John Shaw-Rimmingtonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13895554934613575227noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-441717290032747511.post-24718260718640129622024-02-29T03:30:00.001-05:002024-02-29T03:30:00.132-05:00Inside Outside<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='730' height='607' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dzLSGb-E2HzwS2yyuPqFgONsUyrR4ShjTyRafUegtiC7aKtAvfK-rO-HAUDsSXyioYqUfKNLHfV53u8qH2fQQ' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><br /> <p></p>John Shaw-Rimmingtonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13895554934613575227noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-441717290032747511.post-57884410225820941722024-02-28T13:31:00.004-05:002024-02-28T13:31:41.238-05:00What happened here?<p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuYWYtt-nlW_yrzhyphenhyphenjeY6iF_rnN48EgKww5Ei05Cfm6lwuK1L7-FKYq_a_QWdkfd2Ngb7TXjreHWeVOrQ9koOjQp3cFfajwmIYWP6t-axWI2wA-6UKOk_xjzPS9QoqSxt0kcdy7IRJAa4n1AIUxyiHCF-2CrrJQFeO1qMSkF3sxc9DFENcFuB1gb9U52kl/s767/fallen%20sarsens.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="585" data-original-width="767" height="467" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuYWYtt-nlW_yrzhyphenhyphenjeY6iF_rnN48EgKww5Ei05Cfm6lwuK1L7-FKYq_a_QWdkfd2Ngb7TXjreHWeVOrQ9koOjQp3cFfajwmIYWP6t-axWI2wA-6UKOk_xjzPS9QoqSxt0kcdy7IRJAa4n1AIUxyiHCF-2CrrJQFeO1qMSkF3sxc9DFENcFuB1gb9U52kl/w612-h467/fallen%20sarsens.png" width="612" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-large;">What happened here? Why did this stone monument fall apart? Did they skimp on concrete footings ? Did they not compact the soil before they started building? Maybe they should have built it in a better place, with better drainage? Maybe it was just built badly? </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-large;">Now if they’d just engineered it a bit better, you know, like made the sarsens bigger, fatter, maybe the thing wouldn’t have fallen down so soon? </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></p>John Shaw-Rimmingtonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13895554934613575227noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-441717290032747511.post-53570417177801084252024-02-27T21:14:00.004-05:002024-02-27T21:14:52.598-05:00Rocks really know how to stay in shape<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvvszwX60_hciHRfQj4MmFIq52qgJxYeFhuR0Kl40gnKwTxXm3Hb-keAnZjLdRKowm6kwE7BXbeYB_sUH-Par5J7LRRFX9Gxe6hzrIC3XJEf5PN9lcVFzXqPN-W4l-6uI0mte6b-rJPd3dAzGYT53ybu5QDk8Wk90uGZd2uhugBmU4f68VKt5qEOdNYAWe/s1054/freezethawcycle.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1054" data-original-width="1034" height="593" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvvszwX60_hciHRfQj4MmFIq52qgJxYeFhuR0Kl40gnKwTxXm3Hb-keAnZjLdRKowm6kwE7BXbeYB_sUH-Par5J7LRRFX9Gxe6hzrIC3XJEf5PN9lcVFzXqPN-W4l-6uI0mte6b-rJPd3dAzGYT53ybu5QDk8Wk90uGZd2uhugBmU4f68VKt5qEOdNYAWe/w582-h593/freezethawcycle.jpg" width="582" /></a></div><br /> <span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-large;">We can learn a lot from stones and rocks. They're hard, working. They are infinitely patient. You know where you stand with a them. They're friendly and easy going and if they don't like you they'll never tell you. Of course they might pinch you, or smash your foot, but generally they are not the first to start a confrontation.</span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-large;">We don't really know how hard stones have to be on themselves to stay in shape. Most of the time we only observe them relaxing doing nothing. But on occasion you might find one getting good on the freeze/thaw cycle. If they didn't, they'd be useless in a dry stone wall. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-large;">If they were the friable type ( all crumbly looking ) they will sweat a lot and in cold weather, they will start to fall apart. Thats why stones that haven't passed the freeze/thaw exercise program, will never be chosen for a job in a wall.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-large;">By the way that's how you can tell the difference between a stone and a rock. </span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: xx-large;">A rock is an unemployed stone.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></p>John Shaw-Rimmingtonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13895554934613575227noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-441717290032747511.post-59333132241337836862024-02-26T14:47:00.001-05:002024-02-26T14:47:53.765-05:00Synchronicity and Serendipity<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="491" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/z7kc1oa7XgA" width="591" youtube-src-id="z7kc1oa7XgA"></iframe></div><br /> <p></p><p><br /></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-large;">This video was created by Karina Sinclair for Landscape Ontario Trade magazine. I am thankful that some of the questions Carina asked me, allowed an opportunity to probe a little deeper into what dry stone walling (particularly faux ruins, fictional dwellings and landscape follies) is all about. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-large;">In the next few posts on Thinking With My Hands I hope to explore the connection between Synchronicity and Serendipity further.</span></p>John Shaw-Rimmingtonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13895554934613575227noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-441717290032747511.post-65219874881253423372024-02-25T21:11:00.002-05:002024-02-26T08:23:14.228-05:00Stonescaping<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqvqfUEMCvt4L38o-Cr42ldhtRXJ89eoj0FVkFxMgMyhsfcXb8GvqdmPmlfJlhVBt2h67Bce6dsuAH_av2b-JpH3tPAy7sNqP5CIPmBNCIg77xGBgvzUlQ_pwJZJyCpBfGs6pRT7pYnl6IgaHjz6Dv-zeOfgMOmgWnZByFjImfK1lKntb0wNU0G9e3j0PR/s903/stone%20escaping.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="615" data-original-width="903" height="496" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqvqfUEMCvt4L38o-Cr42ldhtRXJ89eoj0FVkFxMgMyhsfcXb8GvqdmPmlfJlhVBt2h67Bce6dsuAH_av2b-JpH3tPAy7sNqP5CIPmBNCIg77xGBgvzUlQ_pwJZJyCpBfGs6pRT7pYnl6IgaHjz6Dv-zeOfgMOmgWnZByFjImfK1lKntb0wNU0G9e3j0PR/w729-h496/stone%20escaping.JPG" width="729" /></a></div><p></p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">I encourage StonEscaping</span></p><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><br /></p><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue";">Stones escaping from </span><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue;">their enemy : concrete products</span></span></p><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue;">Escaping from metal bars , rebar, tie pins, fixatives, adhesives, and threaded bolts.</span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue";"> </span></span></p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Escaping from the machinery, the manufacturing the crushing burning, moulding, cookie-cutter, mechanized, landscraping industry </span></p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Escaping from the mad toxic bland manmade world of fabricated (so called) natural products</span></p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Escaping from the advancing army of bull dozers</span></p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Escaping from being dumped in holes and buried under the ground </span></p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Escaping being imprisoned in cement and concrete </span></p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Escaping from being plonked, abandoned, in meaningless artless clumps in public places </span></p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Escaping from being lined up at borders, from their parking-lot-in-life non-curb appeal fate . </span></p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: xx-large;">Escaping to </span><span style="font-size: xx-large;">the freedom of a dry laid wall. Where all the parts are connected, yet free to move . </span></p><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: x-large;">Escaping from the saw. The grinder. Escaping from the jaws of mass production, over engineering, monoculture, </span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: x-large;">unimaginative</span><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue; font-size: x-large;">, repetitive, mass produced carbon-emitting copies of real stone...... </span></p><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue; font-size: x-large;">to</span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: xx-large;"> become beautiful liberated stones in 'Walls Without Mortar' </span></p>John Shaw-Rimmingtonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13895554934613575227noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-441717290032747511.post-85160467514887815882024-02-21T22:11:00.007-05:002024-02-21T22:15:22.699-05:00Where do you get your straw from?<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='482' height='401' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dw4CBGr3sxYXtR0QcWXDVwGzRbvGabHR1g1dIC23GVCW-z_THUgAGU_MJMTNXV14g1U70dA7QjOWoIwy2gSXQ' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">A waller often has to do magic with the material he finds himself having to work with. It’s like spinning gold out of straw. It seems impossible, and yet the "straw" is somehow slowly magically transformed into a work of solid gold . It happens so often. But I wonder do magicians ever fuss over what kind of special hats they are going to need to pull rabbits from, or might an Imp like Rumplestiltskin ever complain about the poor quality of moldy straw he’s expected to attempt to spin into gold, No I think that if you doing sorcery, its not at all dependent on having special grade material to begin with.</span></p><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Yes there are different grades of straw But I assume it doesn’t make a difference what kind of straw you use, if magic is going to be applied to it, anyway. Isn’t it all of the same order of magic-natude ? And so what do you say to someone who comes along later and sees the solid magic you've created, and (as if it makes a difference) asks “Where do you get your straw from ?</span></p><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div></div><p><br /> </p>John Shaw-Rimmingtonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13895554934613575227noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-441717290032747511.post-86425876732898119482024-02-20T19:35:00.000-05:002024-02-20T19:35:03.099-05:00Mortar Without Stones<p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdDeJC0OeiP5Y6woqmP7E9zLCpqrAnkZU6y9DmVSwmPiKn4OYQXPCBOWMeKLSypmrWHXd1qnU5PkC3y3E8-RN9dx5slkqALId-6Oz3LF9mXWrxhc2tDeFEh3j0sDkS-eLJ9BH6dx-vvOqWbBtLXhWB-7IG1IN5dHB0wGBa2XhbyAqPrUzkQBi96H_FEb7L/s1944/IMG_6738%202.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1944" data-original-width="1440" height="575" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdDeJC0OeiP5Y6woqmP7E9zLCpqrAnkZU6y9DmVSwmPiKn4OYQXPCBOWMeKLSypmrWHXd1qnU5PkC3y3E8-RN9dx5slkqALId-6Oz3LF9mXWrxhc2tDeFEh3j0sDkS-eLJ9BH6dx-vvOqWbBtLXhWB-7IG1IN5dHB0wGBa2XhbyAqPrUzkQBi96H_FEb7L/w426-h575/IMG_6738%202.jpg" width="426" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(102, 102, 102); color: #666666; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">When I used to do mortar masonry back in the 80's , we had a helper Eric who mixed all our mortar, wheel barrows of it. When we'd finish a chimney or a stone addition, and took away all the scaffolding, we'd often stand back and admire the stonework.</span><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(102, 102, 102); color: #666666; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"> I'd say something like "Look at all that beautiful stonework". He'd stand there for a while and then say "Look at all that beautiful mortar"</span></p>John Shaw-Rimmingtonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13895554934613575227noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-441717290032747511.post-83997179778186506022024-02-19T22:02:00.004-05:002024-02-20T16:24:07.525-05:00No Entry<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2zlqZ3U4zi8dQGiN2yqxkRp9c81B_3Hs2OIDVYmjM3rGbKOzQ1VtL7_mW5aPVGiER9zgyuFUPAHrhoNYCNhzlOombpp_tPkOpN_8fk8Y9_FhO7msKMXG1t6jjpVcvT7eBvPacmuQZ1tiZ_TxSlLPbaZDsOfcq9_y7duguRbOKX01GaUFFiid_0Xt-YiYj/s4032/no%20entry.HEIC" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="506" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2zlqZ3U4zi8dQGiN2yqxkRp9c81B_3Hs2OIDVYmjM3rGbKOzQ1VtL7_mW5aPVGiER9zgyuFUPAHrhoNYCNhzlOombpp_tPkOpN_8fk8Y9_FhO7msKMXG1t6jjpVcvT7eBvPacmuQZ1tiZ_TxSlLPbaZDsOfcq9_y7duguRbOKX01GaUFFiid_0Xt-YiYj/w675-h506/no%20entry.HEIC" width="675" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">I saw this when I was bicycling through Menton, France last month. Could they have walled this entrance in better so that they didn't need the No Entry sign too? It looks like it would stop a tank, but maybe someone thought it still looked a little under-engineered. </span><p></p>John Shaw-Rimmingtonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13895554934613575227noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-441717290032747511.post-78676664641590287062024-02-18T11:37:00.006-05:002024-02-18T11:37:51.434-05:00The Picturesque<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-PjPvNuNNh5KqsOJ22nkUau7-chnnxraVr1ZR8QpmNMqFUY-h-xplzTNU41F-jyJk9w0BTuQZWC8TaIW7ZOSFJvMECrD0ujtYZDhVNlGoehotOf3F-Wu-R6FCRHcQJRGVRfpSCiTU0M1Mybnw9WrmIX8Vb6oiWaYK36CGigo54ZkADJRxyt3GZBDluFv6/s480/Sketch%20by%20John%20Ruskin.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="343" height="694" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-PjPvNuNNh5KqsOJ22nkUau7-chnnxraVr1ZR8QpmNMqFUY-h-xplzTNU41F-jyJk9w0BTuQZWC8TaIW7ZOSFJvMECrD0ujtYZDhVNlGoehotOf3F-Wu-R6FCRHcQJRGVRfpSCiTU0M1Mybnw9WrmIX8Vb6oiWaYK36CGigo54ZkADJRxyt3GZBDluFv6/w497-h694/Sketch%20by%20John%20Ruskin.jpg" width="497" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">John Ruskin, on the necessity of properly anticipating the picturesque ruined look that comes only with time</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">"In architecture, the superinduced and accidental beauty is most commonly inconsistent with the preservation of original character, and the picturesque is therefore sought in ruin, and supposed to consist in decay. Whereas, even when so sought, it consists in the mere sublimity of the rents, or fractures, or stains, or vegetation, which assimilate the architecture with the work of Nature, and bestow upon it those circumstances of colour and form which are universally beloved by the eye of man. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">So far as this is done, to the extinction of the true characters of the architecture, it is 'picturesque', and the artist who looks to the stem of the ivy instead of the shaft of the pillar, is carrying out in more daring freedom the debased sculptor's choice of the hair instead of the countenance. But so far as it can be rendered consistent with the inherent character, the picturesque or extraneous sublimity of architecture has just this of nobler function in it than that of any other object whatsoever, that it is an exponent of age, of that in which, as has been said, the greatest glory of the building consists; and, therefore, the external signs of this glory, having power and purpose greater than any belonging to their mere sensible beauty, may be considered as taking rank among pure and essential characters; so essential to my mind, that I think a building cannot be considered as in its prime until four or five centuries have passed over it; and that the entire choice and arrangement of its details should have reference to their appearance after that period, so that none should be admitted which would suffer material injury either by the weather-staining, or the mechanical degradation which the lapse of such a period would necessitate.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-large;"><i>Seven Lamps of Architecture</i></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><i><br /></i></span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghW6Gg7e5XeD6yF0r1ckERlIdrL9Osdtk06_noswM-Q5WjBNH-6Hseq91iHcCOJmVP7CVrtD_5uH8QOzPQx_oSvBUDJ0tRKVCnHGKnxuH5mhyphenhyphen8rePtKUuXNDaUUlymwChqqr3Bmvo9nCq70VgllXao87kMjxTXD1zNrhyphenhyphennzK7a6a5bCoysZhaSIhNpS2X-/s697/John%20Ruskin.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="525" data-original-width="697" height="493" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghW6Gg7e5XeD6yF0r1ckERlIdrL9Osdtk06_noswM-Q5WjBNH-6Hseq91iHcCOJmVP7CVrtD_5uH8QOzPQx_oSvBUDJ0tRKVCnHGKnxuH5mhyphenhyphen8rePtKUuXNDaUUlymwChqqr3Bmvo9nCq70VgllXao87kMjxTXD1zNrhyphenhyphennzK7a6a5bCoysZhaSIhNpS2X-/w653-h493/John%20Ruskin.png" width="653" /></a></div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><i><br /></i></span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-large;"><i><br /></i></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></p>
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<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><br /></p>John Shaw-Rimmingtonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13895554934613575227noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-441717290032747511.post-14634358468074984332024-02-17T09:00:00.001-05:002024-02-17T22:50:23.936-05:00Discovering the Borie Story.<p><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTikzfb_7VA1wg0ajQBDjbY4aUXvaN17lC1KhKwCh1aCAC-EyYNCTgjjoAZz1tKaF3AxzrvK1smm9u20rkaWxV7w_cbCpNo0_OSXSaIrN8vYkDgajoYple6u0ygIcOPUAI1B79BRfSfwqvSyskcjd1NRHE4tIYg3p7ee2krmasHhWKlPLp920bUKa0ButK/s2456/Borie%202.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2456" data-original-width="1510" height="653" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTikzfb_7VA1wg0ajQBDjbY4aUXvaN17lC1KhKwCh1aCAC-EyYNCTgjjoAZz1tKaF3AxzrvK1smm9u20rkaWxV7w_cbCpNo0_OSXSaIrN8vYkDgajoYple6u0ygIcOPUAI1B79BRfSfwqvSyskcjd1NRHE4tIYg3p7ee2krmasHhWKlPLp920bUKa0ButK/w402-h653/Borie%202.jpg" width="402" /></a></span></div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></span><p></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: arial;">In the vicinity of the </span><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(102, 102, 102); font-family: "Helvetica Neue";">Village of the Bories at Gordes in Vaucluse, France </span><span style="font-family: arial;">we </span><span style="font-family: arial;">looked amidst the bushes for other unique structures. We found one that had not been restored to someone else’s concept of what it should or could have looked like . </span></span></p>
<p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 17px;"><span style="font-size: large;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEie-ea49u2uFve_rHEFBMZ5FcE72_evzR26_1mSZopCIBL8VFQ4cEGfZrTIMRsVUe82hx8KQUaIqWBiZt5tGQj7H86W-uJtIk6mDK5wgtBPLZb_-hyENPrBuAKzAf093QPdDV9zGeZ4RInwS6Y3N6yVFayI4dK9M-WFiaYx-6ojOy-W7BFnhs9wlqUongUZ/s2732/Borie%200.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2732" data-original-width="2048" height="455" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEie-ea49u2uFve_rHEFBMZ5FcE72_evzR26_1mSZopCIBL8VFQ4cEGfZrTIMRsVUe82hx8KQUaIqWBiZt5tGQj7H86W-uJtIk6mDK5wgtBPLZb_-hyENPrBuAKzAf093QPdDV9zGeZ4RInwS6Y3N6yVFayI4dK9M-WFiaYx-6ojOy-W7BFnhs9wlqUongUZ/w341-h455/Borie%200.PNG" width="341" /></a></span></div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></span><p></p><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 17px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Everyone has an interpretation of the original. But we wanted to see a site (inside and out) before it was all fixed up. We wanted to learn its story. Its good to be able to study deterioration that has not yet been repaired, to see for ourselves things like, how and why a section of wall failed, or how a strange shaped opening fell apart or why a thin lintel in the side opening hadn't cracked. </span></span></p><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 17px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></span></p><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 17px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: arial;">We learn more from seeing the mistakes of the original builder than the repairs of those who follow .</span><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></span></p>
<p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 17px;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcPMKZFiXAwPdOlQnNX_4873SeOdbvWd-f14AoJfowAgAaCxfcQypvvRbFmyCWdXvVnzdtglwR8IBek252jbeDS6JsacOLRgre1i32gRJblq8487AfQL405KVNK90dGHVkbb4kfkOkrgjwKBSCO5iMqnG5GlzjTumdMBTYcPNLNtXi4FdJ6KvmcUwsUD2M/s2732/Borie%203.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2732" data-original-width="2048" height="509" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcPMKZFiXAwPdOlQnNX_4873SeOdbvWd-f14AoJfowAgAaCxfcQypvvRbFmyCWdXvVnzdtglwR8IBek252jbeDS6JsacOLRgre1i32gRJblq8487AfQL405KVNK90dGHVkbb4kfkOkrgjwKBSCO5iMqnG5GlzjTumdMBTYcPNLNtXi4FdJ6KvmcUwsUD2M/w382-h509/Borie%203.PNG" width="382" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span><p></p>
<p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">And are they all mistakes?, Really? OR, Were they the best answer for the circumstance, for the purpose perceived at the time. What was the time period the structure was determined to likely be of use. </span></p>
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<p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">It's difficult to surmise what happened if the evidence has been removed. </span></p><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisBUmxj2y3-hKGYkqORDzTrr-BS5KKPeU7ow1YRDCCbg86dPu4V_LOtDxFijmCroPhGNWXam49MWmjfEuOnoMGkPa83tSe6PnxCDFPBIrrFs2xUldy-nlh7b_0-HCDKRDtHS1mc6Bl8mEiL3N-1tfDuBfrkDKbxxIbDkyWb4WI0CSG-xBgRcGYwUY6uKSK/s2732/Borie%205.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2732" data-original-width="2048" height="415" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisBUmxj2y3-hKGYkqORDzTrr-BS5KKPeU7ow1YRDCCbg86dPu4V_LOtDxFijmCroPhGNWXam49MWmjfEuOnoMGkPa83tSe6PnxCDFPBIrrFs2xUldy-nlh7b_0-HCDKRDtHS1mc6Bl8mEiL3N-1tfDuBfrkDKbxxIbDkyWb4WI0CSG-xBgRcGYwUY6uKSK/w311-h415/Borie%205.PNG" width="311" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span><p></p><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Questions like -</span></p><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">“Were there any long through stones or did they all break? Or did someone steal them?”</span></p><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"> </span></p><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeuKvLLXMauJDlNpMkYA4CcTA8FB8osgyNsdUy-VTiMicVXsTjuWMgR5iIxHW90swpKpsqfONZI-604fx1AuiZ28eM194ZmlC8SWSCf8fFzX2QoAl-Uyim7RHIJ0Cnl0T2FokyBu-9mPaJjqa8ziVfUtd522QtVvafE82-wndGwc-qM96UQMYA1xYdBzfb/s2732/Borie%206.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2732" data-original-width="2048" height="475" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeuKvLLXMauJDlNpMkYA4CcTA8FB8osgyNsdUy-VTiMicVXsTjuWMgR5iIxHW90swpKpsqfONZI-604fx1AuiZ28eM194ZmlC8SWSCf8fFzX2QoAl-Uyim7RHIJ0Cnl0T2FokyBu-9mPaJjqa8ziVfUtd522QtVvafE82-wndGwc-qM96UQMYA1xYdBzfb/w356-h475/Borie%206.PNG" width="356" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">“Why is this door opening so short ?" (unlike all the ones in the Village of Bories , that had been rebuilt a foot taller)</span><p></p><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><br /><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p>
<p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 17px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-large;">We enjoy sandcastles, not just seing them in their pristine state, but to delight in watching the sped-up processes of 'decay over time' – to watch how an arch collapses, or where incoming water erodes away the wall, first. We gradually learn to appreciate the inevitability of impermanence. </span></p><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 17px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 17px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-large;">To every thing there is a season, and then, that season is over. We want to watch the seasons change. We want to take pleasure in that gradual eventuality.</span></p>
<p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 17px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p>
<p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">It seems foolishness not to accept or take any pleasure in or at least be curious in that 'eventuality'. After all it is an essential component of existence, – the propensity of all things to move towards their expiry date.</span></p><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjLyy-DX6IZBcp53YDl_Ui3o0MTB0k3z1gGz52gU-wX97LwxQMx8emps4uejlHIdmH3JRbayTkdPqjv7gl1ZPkS5UyiTw6bzSqSUUbDkwvs67VUcNWWlwoHC3K5DPCvV9XRaRVSFlbUstDLTyExbTrepu1Nbllr1i4RyGYKXAXO0gxVdqKe1JPy0uf2DGz/s2732/Borie%207.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2732" data-original-width="2048" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjLyy-DX6IZBcp53YDl_Ui3o0MTB0k3z1gGz52gU-wX97LwxQMx8emps4uejlHIdmH3JRbayTkdPqjv7gl1ZPkS5UyiTw6bzSqSUUbDkwvs67VUcNWWlwoHC3K5DPCvV9XRaRVSFlbUstDLTyExbTrepu1Nbllr1i4RyGYKXAXO0gxVdqKe1JPy0uf2DGz/s320/Borie%207.PNG" width="240" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span><p></p><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">We shall continue to build things to last, yes, but never suppose we can, or indeed think we can defy, or ever win over the forces of entropy.</span></p><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><br /><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOpRIC3vNsrXfBCbu3eOMRLIXBuyyWV_UA8j54FAER9qNKzfq-NMhuaongoWJ2y-tUNvF5r1AIyfH9AetfgUKYi84jhTzhp_B6vwtoAPU6AiN245Tq7nJIeqrUAAnl2nmPoqsiCaI02tp8-ZfVzXxq4i1BwosTIQ4_OAer39yagRTpYQ-RH9oDT9WmrjkP/s2732/Borie%208.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2732" data-original-width="2048" height="458" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOpRIC3vNsrXfBCbu3eOMRLIXBuyyWV_UA8j54FAER9qNKzfq-NMhuaongoWJ2y-tUNvF5r1AIyfH9AetfgUKYi84jhTzhp_B6vwtoAPU6AiN245Tq7nJIeqrUAAnl2nmPoqsiCaI02tp8-ZfVzXxq4i1BwosTIQ4_OAer39yagRTpYQ-RH9oDT9WmrjkP/w343-h458/Borie%208.PNG" width="343" /></a></div><p></p>
<p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 17px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p>
<p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">A modern ( over engineered ?) building often makes, no concessions to the reality of beautiful decay. </span></p><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Vernacular rustic humble aged structures seem better, more beautiful, for accepting their lot in the process of time. </span></p><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><br /><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsxWo45y95Yb8BaF9tsrI5Q4BTWquJXXUuj3iSPKUdC1hsI-9vwwBHnKm3So1yQI-rHI5M0fQ9OEXTICNT_IIZpkJ2eoXZZxasjjtd4y1NcmHCN-LhakrGNgiqyH_WpvIvxm74yKlfGiqI-PLWSrXMmtj3OoAuwcRVEFukg9uLX5m4KUDLUWdSj_79WzSb/s2447/borie%201.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2447" data-original-width="1512" height="585" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsxWo45y95Yb8BaF9tsrI5Q4BTWquJXXUuj3iSPKUdC1hsI-9vwwBHnKm3So1yQI-rHI5M0fQ9OEXTICNT_IIZpkJ2eoXZZxasjjtd4y1NcmHCN-LhakrGNgiqyH_WpvIvxm74yKlfGiqI-PLWSrXMmtj3OoAuwcRVEFukg9uLX5m4KUDLUWdSj_79WzSb/w362-h585/borie%201.PNG" width="362" /></a></div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span><p></p><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Whether it is a humble dry stone hut, or a proud Roman aqueduct, the reality of its journey towards obsolescence need not be disguised.</span></p>
<p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">We all start as adolescents and THEN ... we become obsolescent. The 'then' can be a long beautiful journey.</span></p><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p>John Shaw-Rimmingtonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13895554934613575227noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-441717290032747511.post-72028693989891914702024-02-16T11:28:00.002-05:002024-02-16T11:28:59.687-05:00Doing Permanent Damage<p><br /></p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIGkVHG_1UzmSMG_xx3v3_Pi-vNcSsXuPBI2hDJM6GR4NtARckmezDq4FnXimcSubM08oJfKEXz5g8iTxpUI8iybEu_oHgZfLfH2RRF3G4CA038Ku-FhOaVdMal1vHwGXt-eEahC69kHpltUzC36FEZ5dPTfThtzjhBQ5sCY1PAB5Kx_SUy6tQXuFk89Fg/s644/dry%20stone%20bunker.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="637" data-original-width="644" height="412" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIGkVHG_1UzmSMG_xx3v3_Pi-vNcSsXuPBI2hDJM6GR4NtARckmezDq4FnXimcSubM08oJfKEXz5g8iTxpUI8iybEu_oHgZfLfH2RRF3G4CA038Ku-FhOaVdMal1vHwGXt-eEahC69kHpltUzC36FEZ5dPTfThtzjhBQ5sCY1PAB5Kx_SUy6tQXuFk89Fg/w416-h412/dry%20stone%20bunker.JPG" width="416" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"> <span style="caret-color: rgb(102, 102, 102); color: #666666; font-family: Helvetica;">I have always maintained that building a dry stone wall doesn't have to be a trade-off between beauty and sturdiness, and that both can be accomplished using even a random assortment of stones. It is possible to erect something that is built like a tank, but is a tank really beautiful. A wall, unless it is built in a war zone, doesn't have to look like a tank-barrier either, just the same way a house surely doesn't have to look like a bunker.</span></span></p><div style="caret-color: rgb(102, 102, 102); color: #666666; font-family: Helvetica;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(102, 102, 102); color: #666666; font-family: Helvetica;"><span style="font-size: large;">Like good art and much of life, restraint is the key. War is about excess. A wall built without restraint is a wall that wastes too many of the better sized and squarer flatter shaped stones. Such a wall demands that more and more 'recruits' come in and lay down their lives for the 'wall cause', which doesn't so much 'raise the standard' as raise the cost . </span></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(102, 102, 102); color: #666666; font-family: Helvetica;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(102, 102, 102); color: #666666; font-family: Helvetica;"><span style="font-size: large;">"But" you say to yourself, "why spare any expense?" </span></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(102, 102, 102); color: #666666; font-family: Helvetica;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(102, 102, 102); color: #666666; font-family: Helvetica;"><span style="font-size: large;">I suppose such a walling effort will appear to be a kind of heroic 'war effort'. If you are not in love with what you are doing, then your wall can be excessively blocky and dull, and you can call for throughstones to be inserted every other foot and use fairly unchallenging stones everywhere. It is no longer about being ecological or being frugal with what you have or even being creative, but it's about militarily 'securing' your position and establishing your dominance over a section of wall, even if it requires using a lot of pre-cut stuff from the pallet and anything else you secretly know is pretty hard to come by .</span></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(102, 102, 102); color: #666666; font-family: Helvetica;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(102, 102, 102); color: #666666; font-family: Helvetica;"><span style="font-size: large;">Yours becomes a pragmatic wall, the antithesis of art. You can pretend it is the 'Wall to End All Walls'. You can assure yourself that you haven't skimped on anything in a slavish commitment to permanence. But there is an obvious point where the beauty and spontaneity are lost. A wall like that might win the battle for lasting the longest or the prize for looking like you couldn't push it over with a tank, but it won't necessarily be is a 'handsome' wall, and in the end, ironically, it wont be a wall you will want to remember..</span></div>John Shaw-Rimmingtonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13895554934613575227noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-441717290032747511.post-12617805933008199852024-02-15T16:48:00.004-05:002024-02-15T17:14:21.662-05:00Over Blown<p><br /><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJwbSq8ekuCGZSNF0akWbyv-kJHr10bEoBjaSB64XtsJqrWop7OBw0hXdI45GTOqqD-f9jd90krHbpOUlhpcVn7sSlizYFIu4nJq7PZh-4LcE9S8W2DKU90WPWEUuIn9aPZx0aewD04TfnoHnZAHPXIVP4ZTotlaJeJqtTx3Td7oSy2S_M0ps0CT_LfWuo/s1184/leaf%20blower.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="903" data-original-width="1184" height="490" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJwbSq8ekuCGZSNF0akWbyv-kJHr10bEoBjaSB64XtsJqrWop7OBw0hXdI45GTOqqD-f9jd90krHbpOUlhpcVn7sSlizYFIu4nJq7PZh-4LcE9S8W2DKU90WPWEUuIn9aPZx0aewD04TfnoHnZAHPXIVP4ZTotlaJeJqtTx3Td7oSy2S_M0ps0CT_LfWuo/w644-h490/leaf%20blower.png" width="644" /></a></div><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: arial;">It may be difficult to describe the actual point where a project begins to exceed the well-founded structural (or design) requirements, but most of us recognize full blown overengineering when we see it. </span><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span><span style="font-family: arial;">( obviously if we're talking about the modern gas powered leaf blower, then the quantum leap it makes from what was the perfectly good job that a rake can do, is quite obvious.</span></span><p></p><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">And yes, the answer to the question is – A dry stone wall <i>can</i> be over engineered. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Such a structure can be ridiculously too thick, have unnecessarily tight fitting faces, have too many through stones, (or ones too over-sized) or that have all the stones sawn and/or completely fabricated and divested of their inherent character. The end result of over engineering is that the thing has an annoying overworked appearance, or worse, looks like someone was just trying to show off.</span></div><p><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: arial;">The next question is <i>why</i> does this happen. Why can something as simple and as time honoured a craft as dry stone walling still slip into that trap of becoming </span><span style="font-family: arial;">overengineered? Why is it not obvious that instead of being a logical, frugal, and uncomplicated way of building, it often compels those who practice the craft to outdo or overdo or overshoot what is needed or what has been done before?</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><br /></p>John Shaw-Rimmingtonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13895554934613575227noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-441717290032747511.post-79990719200622327512024-02-14T20:31:00.002-05:002024-02-14T20:31:12.882-05:00What is the point du gard?<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3wpHPfmw1DGy0pvvFHnskhK8ylhNQ3ymtU7DwmhAG9Dt4B0Ryrmc5kcyNP9-MdPdwFs3GuRu5b3NsY4RxuLB0kb8CpSbVe9b0qClfaZhP-_ku_huNF0MdS0iFK69elurxDwbH7XZGzzC9-LeDbj92bJbl3aLcl_7vYUpYKuP4RzD5cbtJ1PFY0TkucJk9/s2079/pont%20du%20gard.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2079" data-original-width="960" height="849" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3wpHPfmw1DGy0pvvFHnskhK8ylhNQ3ymtU7DwmhAG9Dt4B0Ryrmc5kcyNP9-MdPdwFs3GuRu5b3NsY4RxuLB0kb8CpSbVe9b0qClfaZhP-_ku_huNF0MdS0iFK69elurxDwbH7XZGzzC9-LeDbj92bJbl3aLcl_7vYUpYKuP4RzD5cbtJ1PFY0TkucJk9/w393-h849/pont%20du%20gard.PNG" width="393" /></a></div><br /> <p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">In the next couple of <i>Thinking With My Hands</i> entries I'd like to investigate the meaning of the question..."Can a dry stone wall be over engineered ?"</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">See you tomorrow</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p>John Shaw-Rimmingtonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13895554934613575227noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-441717290032747511.post-59196999217639924242024-02-13T04:30:00.001-05:002024-02-13T04:30:00.132-05:00What do you connect with<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaa7TlUpm_CLeAxSTHp1vAvB6KFXd3OAj1WzVTAXej5XMYrTngFbEawHk5SNCFStV0Eh0IkQZreO7QO9mb8JkFXNl40rC8UTuDdRJ4Qq4cYCqCV3f8j41dfoXerqMVImNcapN_RdzF_7WUNrwUIyCawpH1W0jj5_OQzWexY76S2E9StYoDRy6zf9YFgtcr/s1303/IMG_8170.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1303" data-original-width="1303" height="503" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaa7TlUpm_CLeAxSTHp1vAvB6KFXd3OAj1WzVTAXej5XMYrTngFbEawHk5SNCFStV0Eh0IkQZreO7QO9mb8JkFXNl40rC8UTuDdRJ4Qq4cYCqCV3f8j41dfoXerqMVImNcapN_RdzF_7WUNrwUIyCawpH1W0jj5_OQzWexY76S2E9StYoDRy6zf9YFgtcr/w503-h503/IMG_8170.jpg" width="503" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;">All of us</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;">Are looking </span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;">To find a way of connecting.</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;">We learn the principles of connection sometimes </span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;">By experimenting putting things together.</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;">Connecting them like stones in a wall</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;">And we learn </span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;">What works</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;">And what doesn't.</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;">And we make the connections.</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;">And our wall takes on a pleasing form if is built right </span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;">And reveals the beauty of connectivity.</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;">And fittingly,</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;">we and others 'connect' with what we see. </span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><br /></p>John Shaw-Rimmingtonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13895554934613575227noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-441717290032747511.post-64479822544134879152024-02-12T11:14:00.007-05:002024-02-12T11:19:53.718-05:00Bucket List<p><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue;"><br /></span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZ29a7uXx9ysEoyuMW2q22bjvY1xVuGTZx5Rys6lm9sFF9bwHMhv4808Vz_nMj1Ea919Rtthax_LRb4uPyA3ovJIuajJ5oQQCu4kK-Y8KEULX4jCfCq-00bA87LOc7FjMkcZ0AAvEar73_6X49CeproHxs8dj_0LjPxiEhuQCDo-zlifCQj7p21zDAn3zS/s800/IMG_5207.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="476" data-original-width="800" height="447" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZ29a7uXx9ysEoyuMW2q22bjvY1xVuGTZx5Rys6lm9sFF9bwHMhv4808Vz_nMj1Ea919Rtthax_LRb4uPyA3ovJIuajJ5oQQCu4kK-Y8KEULX4jCfCq-00bA87LOc7FjMkcZ0AAvEar73_6X49CeproHxs8dj_0LjPxiEhuQCDo-zlifCQj7p21zDAn3zS/w755-h447/IMG_5207.JPG" width="755" /></a></span></div><span><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue; font-size: x-large;"><p>We saw a lot of the things in France we wanted to see on our first Saturday off. Six of us crammed into the van and went off to explore The Pont du Gard and several dry stone Bories and Cabanes along the way. Everything was going well until the sliding door on the large van that Mark had rented got knocked off ! (Don't ask how)</p></span></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: x-large;">After the initial shock and the resulting despair, we contemplated a grim scenario of us driving around the rest of the month without a door. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: x-large;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEwJtsswJP6FV1oWf1A49fH6GAYfgBsAQZxSD0heH8dqjlR4HW3uGX7wYsNt4sastCN4kHszBI3qQirdm4B-s_QGG4LMehJvUxXuTF5svGmAqRBAo8PK00ZVIQP_rNvYmQHcUZrCPfGH3ceOImPMSBabtLFXkLBI4U3HIrVSNMkU0WR79Hz8inCufdL9C9/s4032/IMG_3458.HEIC" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="410" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEwJtsswJP6FV1oWf1A49fH6GAYfgBsAQZxSD0heH8dqjlR4HW3uGX7wYsNt4sastCN4kHszBI3qQirdm4B-s_QGG4LMehJvUxXuTF5svGmAqRBAo8PK00ZVIQP_rNvYmQHcUZrCPfGH3ceOImPMSBabtLFXkLBI4U3HIrVSNMkU0WR79Hz8inCufdL9C9/w547-h410/IMG_3458.HEIC" width="547" /></a></span></div></div><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue;"><br /></span></span><p></p><p><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue;">We did manage to eventually get the door back on enough to continue our travels ( Sean Adcock used a rock as a hammer to smash the van latch back into position, and the </span></span><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue;">duck tape I bought came in handy for sealing the iffy door partially shut) </span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue";"> </span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue";">After that day's </span><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue;">adventure, our </span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue";">van was renamed The Bucket List, since we knocked off several interesting things on that drive .</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></p><p></p><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnxzcSU-WP1k3jpS7h1L4wzMWAhSvyqQ82XrVF5kAGfQl1QHi4oLeMI_ymbrZ3CVl5AxJ3DNi47VBhZEcRzWc2ZDy9Vf_TFqlpqfYnHCBoyTdlUVTEpI3FWUxe-U_Am5WKZPX2QXLjs-8UWh4dsLlshhWzMpCtM1o_OFhRSigXtWeE8ztVlXsEDTXgxwiR/s4032/IMG_3459.HEIC" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="709" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnxzcSU-WP1k3jpS7h1L4wzMWAhSvyqQ82XrVF5kAGfQl1QHi4oLeMI_ymbrZ3CVl5AxJ3DNi47VBhZEcRzWc2ZDy9Vf_TFqlpqfYnHCBoyTdlUVTEpI3FWUxe-U_Am5WKZPX2QXLjs-8UWh4dsLlshhWzMpCtM1o_OFhRSigXtWeE8ztVlXsEDTXgxwiR/w532-h709/IMG_3459.HEIC" width="532" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span><p></p>John Shaw-Rimmingtonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13895554934613575227noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-441717290032747511.post-49141672376571640292024-02-11T02:20:00.004-05:002024-02-11T02:20:00.125-05:00The Fresh Impressionists<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQlGlsvY7bbrhimicas2Cxo07NOZlm5J2CIjY3pLH2GiX4Ep_9GKWSbr044-1t6xc_qtGwPReabe-rfoMFMYAWWRGDuPN3tTPoFdetTdarZWe3FodiG4gNiOhur6r18rFYmtFNeG-pV4k4jbeZzZCnirfJBjG-09S8um1hoirqAIIcmbGe3VgzuN86ZHhF/s2980/The%20Fresh%20Impressionists.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2251" data-original-width="2980" height="555" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQlGlsvY7bbrhimicas2Cxo07NOZlm5J2CIjY3pLH2GiX4Ep_9GKWSbr044-1t6xc_qtGwPReabe-rfoMFMYAWWRGDuPN3tTPoFdetTdarZWe3FodiG4gNiOhur6r18rFYmtFNeG-pV4k4jbeZzZCnirfJBjG-09S8um1hoirqAIIcmbGe3VgzuN86ZHhF/w734-h555/The%20Fresh%20Impressionists.JPG" width="734" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-family: arial;"> Nous Laissons Une Impression Durable</span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: large;">We don't just do it for the </span></span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Monet. </span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></span></div><p></p><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJrRkAs2jVrVdft3Bc-AtCi4ZwdE8YeOxCL9BfQqE4hIG7Cqkwx9_kgpV-R8hqNRvgKpacf1_SWTXQ55cFdR3d4OSBXh-XhoVD69g557-NCLnu61bRgeGpA8w7DLdKj1HVfAqgDafQL2-xp39Jz1ElmN54lWBOX52etmMzqEuRE6zmG6lMZlYbj1cVEDym/s2080/mark%20in%20french%20t%20shirt.HEIC" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2080" data-original-width="1597" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJrRkAs2jVrVdft3Bc-AtCi4ZwdE8YeOxCL9BfQqE4hIG7Cqkwx9_kgpV-R8hqNRvgKpacf1_SWTXQ55cFdR3d4OSBXh-XhoVD69g557-NCLnu61bRgeGpA8w7DLdKj1HVfAqgDafQL2-xp39Jz1ElmN54lWBOX52etmMzqEuRE6zmG6lMZlYbj1cVEDym/s320/mark%20in%20french%20t%20shirt.HEIC" width="246" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Monsieur Mark Ricard, </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Project Manager, @drystoneart, Marculeus</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">The man who made sure we made, not just dry stone art, but more importantly, a durable impression on the French landscape.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div><br /></div>John Shaw-Rimmingtonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13895554934613575227noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-441717290032747511.post-21457337719575974612024-02-10T05:00:00.001-05:002024-02-10T05:00:00.127-05:00The “Walled” is my Cloister<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCZZJuomk_nJn47yRxV7JS9byLrHqxdwTc8oGuW2574hmC1fn-_c8Y98flo2lYMLA-UqqMMlV44JsV4n9WkOKnMZ75tESdqjoGicOQupewRZ-RzmvCBi4ZjJID_eINvBJaYu2ijBqAfp_349O1WqfSSNF60CA9L6xWwtskBpCYd5rmGTtqaeDg0V2FrFmr/s863/Screen%20Shot%202024-02-09%20at%2010.09.24%20PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="623" data-original-width="863" height="410" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCZZJuomk_nJn47yRxV7JS9byLrHqxdwTc8oGuW2574hmC1fn-_c8Y98flo2lYMLA-UqqMMlV44JsV4n9WkOKnMZ75tESdqjoGicOQupewRZ-RzmvCBi4ZjJID_eINvBJaYu2ijBqAfp_349O1WqfSSNF60CA9L6xWwtskBpCYd5rmGTtqaeDg0V2FrFmr/w569-h410/Screen%20Shot%202024-02-09%20at%2010.09.24%20PM.png" width="569" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><p></p><div class="_a9zs" style="display: inline; font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"><h1 class="_ap3a _aaco _aacu _aacx _aad7 _aade" dir="auto" style="color: rgb(var(--ig-primary-text)); display: inline !important; font-family: var(--font-family-system); font-weight: var(--font-weight-system-regular); line-height: var(--system-14-line-height); margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;">I’m not cloister-phobic.<br />Nor am I agoraphobic.<br />But I am more of a fan of enclosure, <br />Of feeling being walled-in.<br />The sense of place - being separate from all other places. <br />Separate, protected, cozy, containing everything I need in order to thrive. <br />I suffer from FOMO, and so to counteract the uncomfortableness of having too many choices, I choose to limit my self to what is nearest, convenient, more freely provided.<br />That which lies within my garden view, to complete my outdoor ‘rooms with a view’ .<br />What local stones are there around, to be used, or reused, or locally found? Can I work from the inside out ? Reaching over the wall, would be tricky no doubt. Or , if I worked from the outside in, behind me I’d cover any opening .<br />My cloister is a concentric series of cells, dry laid, self-contained, and all made quite well<br /><br />Enclosures of joy, circling closer and closer. Rings within rings of cosmic attraction.<br />It can be round or square, well-furnished or bare, rustic or formal , uncommon or normal, a place of restraint, a ring of protection, no sense of stagnation , just peace and reflection .<br />What folly is this, what madness imagined , a fantasy walled , without the distraction? A containment , a border , prescribing the edges , made from the fieldstones found in the hedges. <br />Brimming and Rimming with tons of material, to create a sure haven to frame the ethereal. </span></h1></div><div><div class="_a9zs" style="display: inline; font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"><h1 class="_ap3a _aaco _aacu _aacx _aad7 _aade" dir="auto" style="color: rgb(var(--ig-primary-text)); display: inline !important; font-family: var(--font-family-system); font-weight: var(--font-weight-system-regular); line-height: var(--system-14-line-height); margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></h1></div></div><div><div class="_a9zs" style="display: inline; font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"><h1 class="_ap3a _aaco _aacu _aacx _aad7 _aade" dir="auto" style="color: rgb(var(--ig-primary-text)); display: inline !important; font-family: var(--font-family-system); font-weight: var(--font-weight-system-regular); line-height: var(--system-14-line-height); margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;">Painting by <a class="x1i10hfl xjbqb8w x1ejq31n xd10rxx x1sy0etr x17r0tee x972fbf xcfux6l x1qhh985 xm0m39n x9f619 x1ypdohk xt0psk2 xe8uvvx xdj266r x11i5rnm xat24cr x1mh8g0r xexx8yu x4uap5 x18d9i69 xkhd6sd x16tdsg8 x1hl2dhg xggy1nq x1a2a7pz notranslate _a6hd" href="https://www.instagram.com/janegifford1/" role="link" style="border-style: none; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(var(--ig-link)); cursor: pointer; display: inline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-align: inherit; text-decoration: none; touch-action: manipulation;" tabindex="0">@janegifford1</a></span></h1></div><br /></div><div><div class="_a9zs" style="display: inline; font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"><h1 class="_ap3a _aaco _aacu _aacx _aad7 _aade" dir="auto" style="color: rgb(var(--ig-primary-text)); display: inline !important; font-family: var(--font-family-system); font-weight: var(--font-weight-system-regular); line-height: var(--system-14-line-height); margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px;"><br /></h1></div></div><div><div class="_a9zs" style="display: inline; font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"><h1 class="_ap3a _aaco _aacu _aacx _aad7 _aade" dir="auto" style="color: rgb(var(--ig-primary-text)); display: inline !important; font-family: var(--font-family-system); font-weight: var(--font-weight-system-regular); line-height: var(--system-14-line-height); margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px;"><br /></h1></div></div><div><div class="_a9zs" style="display: inline; font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"><h1 class="_ap3a _aaco _aacu _aacx _aad7 _aade" dir="auto" style="color: rgb(var(--ig-primary-text)); display: inline !important; font-family: var(--font-family-system); font-weight: var(--font-weight-system-regular); line-height: var(--system-14-line-height); margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px;"><br /></h1></div></div>John Shaw-Rimmingtonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13895554934613575227noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-441717290032747511.post-64238258373735734992024-02-09T03:20:00.001-05:002024-02-09T03:20:00.135-05:00Choice Stones<p><span style="font-size: large;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEix6fO2Qzt6sZ09DvYpMYuGc3ekIgOKS4ZKWsFMPweaRqu4mrq2KTnVglhpKb8H1vFXOKYAzNqav-6xF0Xtd0SOR30yE0KkchqGPw_VvQ_Ag2Whwy1uhaBvZxKkow3NDDnqozU0nDf6Dswpah_ZR6f_7pJNshONjZqDG2X4E9rp2hTObyClVMYJRy1vxbl1/s4032/IMG_3245.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="581" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEix6fO2Qzt6sZ09DvYpMYuGc3ekIgOKS4ZKWsFMPweaRqu4mrq2KTnVglhpKb8H1vFXOKYAzNqav-6xF0Xtd0SOR30yE0KkchqGPw_VvQ_Ag2Whwy1uhaBvZxKkow3NDDnqozU0nDf6Dswpah_ZR6f_7pJNshONjZqDG2X4E9rp2hTObyClVMYJRy1vxbl1/w436-h581/IMG_3245.jpeg" width="436" /></a></span></div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue";"><br /></span></span><p></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue";">The stones on the shore are all at various stages of completion.</span></span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;">Some have not yet become fully rounded .</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;">Some are still too big. Most of them are at the uninteresting stage. </span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;">Other candidates have holes started in them but the holes don't yet go through to the other side .</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;">They will be ready in a couple more years. </span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;">However a few stones along my beach walk are close to perfect, both in shape and smoothness - tumbled by the ocean and then cleverly left lying on the beach, waiting to catch my attention and then pick them up. </span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;">One candidate will stay in my hand as I walk,</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;">my fingers exploring it's perfect smooth contours and colour, as I look for others, equally perfect in uniqueness. </span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;">There is no rush. No agenda. </span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;">My eyes go into neutral looking for these singular stones to bring home .</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;">My focus is on nothing, in order to see the stones that are really something .</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;">I bring back a dozen or so in my pockets every time I visit the beach </span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;">If I came here an infinite number of times , the sea no doubt , would have completed her timeless task of tumbling every single one of her stones into works of art and I will have had no choice but to have eventually chosen the entire shore of perfectly formed stones to carry back home with me .</span></p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEORQjXqi_nUDQGI9xTBe0LG2MNpnMFVsrMgUIuPaIv6-tLpWYcoU_roLhXS2SlQj5OIENHz9geWjQ2n7KGzaG0SefFiqCulbbDkYVzhGYo1_lmDt4v7ZW2D5-G_8Q82413gGx8akjq8zx_cOMmOT_n2RgFTWqY1C42_g8DjS-WY_P_YnsCUbRJY_kSuP0/s679/IMG_3317.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="679" data-original-width="615" height="576" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEORQjXqi_nUDQGI9xTBe0LG2MNpnMFVsrMgUIuPaIv6-tLpWYcoU_roLhXS2SlQj5OIENHz9geWjQ2n7KGzaG0SefFiqCulbbDkYVzhGYo1_lmDt4v7ZW2D5-G_8Q82413gGx8akjq8zx_cOMmOT_n2RgFTWqY1C42_g8DjS-WY_P_YnsCUbRJY_kSuP0/w522-h576/IMG_3317.jpeg" width="522" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><p></p><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>John Shaw-Rimmingtonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13895554934613575227noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-441717290032747511.post-80676542630034879972024-02-08T03:30:00.024-05:002024-02-08T03:30:00.125-05:00On not knowing the Bories stories<p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEia3M0OIlF3VQsFD3CuVWMCrW-C7y11yVPnO7_ajrIP5H2umJIDfTVFAh-VdQ1URVrPh97DzIVA54NCiqvxuFM6-iZPen53Y7f8v1PSZ62GcosdPOTGH7gUeJRZqm_C_2PTXYB6vQIO-MsOSdPuhfj7p2GgqgL441tZPZZF7TyBTa_Tpwbdw0szmkyRkEf3/s800/Image.tiff" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="533" data-original-width="800" height="359" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEia3M0OIlF3VQsFD3CuVWMCrW-C7y11yVPnO7_ajrIP5H2umJIDfTVFAh-VdQ1URVrPh97DzIVA54NCiqvxuFM6-iZPen53Y7f8v1PSZ62GcosdPOTGH7gUeJRZqm_C_2PTXYB6vQIO-MsOSdPuhfj7p2GgqgL441tZPZZF7TyBTa_Tpwbdw0szmkyRkEf3/w539-h359/Image.tiff" width="539" /></a></span></div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue";"><br /></span></span><p></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue";">Coming across the remains of corbeled roofed (faux vault) dry laid stone shelters while working in France this winter was an inexplicably rewarding experience. There is a tantalizing mystery surrounding all these vernacular edifices which continues to linger long after you visit the Village of the Bories at Gordes in Vaucluse. </span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue";">Augmenting this sense of delightful ‘unknowing’ is the fact that many of these rustic Bories or Cabanes seem to disguise themselves so well amidst the cedars and irregular rocky terrain we were exploring. It’s was as though they were playing a game of hide and seek with us. We stumbled upon one or two nestled into the landscape that only minutes ago we had walked by </span></span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue";">without seeing</span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue";">, on the winding double walled path we were following outside the actual village.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue; font-size: large;">My heart was content to not know what my brain was needing to understand. What does it matter that you don’t know the why the when or the how? Finding these domed dwellings dotted over the rugged french countryside was a bit like finding curious looking shells on the beach. The lives of the inhabitants of the stoney huts we were exploring, their stories, their comings and goings, much like the sea creatures long gone from the shells they leave behind, are narratives we willingly allow to remain unimportant in comparison to the delight of discovering their beautiful abandoned crusty remains lying for the most part undisturbed by time and in uninhabited places. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCP4UlICgKHp8_-NvRbYxYiLGdu1KJANc1YCJVrccmTYiDD7aPMC6DdYXij3v9Nt1zHbeFPUOayqLQ-_OsKw0ClG5-GjfCIApTlaUtfqZSjbiUsPZ3Rj32lyV0g0sjAJniAG7DNnac8v-B30sT8QJk8ZBbV5_EiJChF6Wly5GeGWSTs1nXGBn96gmYEFVL/s1414/borie%20shells.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="932" data-original-width="1414" height="322" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCP4UlICgKHp8_-NvRbYxYiLGdu1KJANc1YCJVrccmTYiDD7aPMC6DdYXij3v9Nt1zHbeFPUOayqLQ-_OsKw0ClG5-GjfCIApTlaUtfqZSjbiUsPZ3Rj32lyV0g0sjAJniAG7DNnac8v-B30sT8QJk8ZBbV5_EiJChF6Wly5GeGWSTs1nXGBn96gmYEFVL/w488-h322/borie%20shells.jpg" width="488" /></a></span></div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue";"><br /></span></span><p></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue";">These strange hollow 'dry stone' shells, unlike other crustaceans, are too big to pick up carry home in our pockets, but we take consolation in being able to take home many of our own personal impressions, and of course myriads of photos, to remind us of this enchanted place where these unusual limestone dwellings are gathered and seem to just bubble up to the surface.</span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue";"> </span></span></p><div><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 12px;"><br /></span></div>John Shaw-Rimmingtonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13895554934613575227noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-441717290032747511.post-12057421821716086272024-02-07T04:00:00.048-05:002024-02-07T07:05:38.033-05:00 The Van 'Go Between' <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilI8HqFkF3UQcH_MI01QdaFckaqc8ljUw_dfhnwuwq8Wm4m2lMyLigPdoRz6NUTBwnYUZCQoMp7C1BnJRwFHBJao2tCYqyK82TKd1z6WQvg19UwnLvueh51vE7bfYwk-8B7XYCd8EelnOPKXgInkh-Vmow02BsOmt61uYyIu8qB9fYgC0MvBk9O6QfIoik/s3522/van%20gogh%20between.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2489" data-original-width="3522" height="448" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilI8HqFkF3UQcH_MI01QdaFckaqc8ljUw_dfhnwuwq8Wm4m2lMyLigPdoRz6NUTBwnYUZCQoMp7C1BnJRwFHBJao2tCYqyK82TKd1z6WQvg19UwnLvueh51vE7bfYwk-8B7XYCd8EelnOPKXgInkh-Vmow02BsOmt61uYyIu8qB9fYgC0MvBk9O6QfIoik/w677-h448/van%20gogh%20between.jpg" width="677" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;">Between the essential and the fabricated,</span></p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;">Between pure Artistic Expression and imitation Artificial Intelligence,</span></p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;">Somewhere between these opposing influences there has to be opportunity to still be surprisingly creative.</span></p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;">Those of us who are looking to bring the art of walling back to earth again, continue to explore this middle road some call the Stone Zone.</span></p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;">Our desire is not just to fit stone's randomness into cute pleasing patterns, but help realize the improbable and the unpredictable.</span></p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;">In order to eliminate the unnatural elements of commercialism, and avoid the contrived manmade over-engineered look, we must steer our way around a digitalized reality that has represented a false concept of ‘virtual.’</span></p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;">We want to explore all stone's potential in this area, and not continue to replicate the predictably obvious. </span></p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;">If you enjoy the art of stone and hope to keep discovering the painterly/creative side of walling, if you like originality, not conformity, if you like your impressions to be real, that is, not contrived, diminished, filtered or visually manipulated, allow me to introduce you to the van Go Between</span></p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;">Somewhere between the pristine environment of priceless masterpieces (that few can afford), and the drab world of cheap reproductions that are neither natural, nor genuinely inspired , the ‘Go Between’ van turns out to be the ideal vehicle for still travelling creatively between the two worlds.</span></p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p>John Shaw-Rimmingtonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13895554934613575227noreply@blogger.com0