Detours

Detours may take us a bit out of the way but they help us avoid all kinds of terribly dreary construction.

Creativity often has to do with taking detours. We see new things along the way. We make associations and then, if we're not too dismissive, we join them.  To reject them is to be left mostly with just copying other's ideas and sometimes even posting pics of other people's work. 

I looked at someones blog yesterday (this,now their latest website of several over the years) and saw some of my stuff there again and thought, 'oh well', I still think I've benefited more from having been the one who took the creative detours and came up with the ideas. 

Originality will always bypass the more middle-of-the-road approach to doing things. 

Bed and Breakfast Arch

Bed and Breakfast Arch
Completed by an amicable collection of  DSWAC members and guests during Rocktoberfest 2004

There is something about an old stone ruin
There is something about new ruins too
They speak a kind of depth to the soul
Creating depth in four dimensions
Pre-aged Architectural Sculpture ?
The art of making you feel you've stepped back in time
Or been there before
Or want to have been there before...

Give your terrain that touch of authenticity

I found this image (and the links below) while searching cyberspace for artistic mossy rocks. If you have time you should download Unity3d and take a lovely simulated walk in the countryside. 

Once again it seems dry stone walls can add so much, not just to real property, but even virtual reality.

Anyway, here is what they say about it....

"Give your terrain that touch of authenticity with this beautiful, rugged dry stone wall. Use it with or without leafy vines. Works great in a variety of settings, from lush green countryside to bleak forbidding landscape.

Package contains:
* Six modular wall sections: small, medium and large, each plain or with vines.
* Two LOD levels for each mesh.
* Materials with high res textures using diffuse and normal maps.
* Prefabs for each wall section, with collision.
* A demo scene is also included.

See an example of the dry stone wall in use at Summer's Day interactive landscape. (Press Shift for “instant travel” and click on the Ivy Walk icon.)

     

https://www.assetstore.unity3d.com/#/content/6236

http://www.bitsong.com/Unity3D/SummersDay/SummersDay.html

"Stone Art - Wallin' and Waffen." By Sean Adcock

The Creation of Thea Alvin

"I thought of Thea's work when I added the Jackson Pollock comment. (see previous post)  And just to be clear I quite like abstract art !  Yes, AL does indeed really dislike Thea's work. We have 'agreed' to differ. 

The problem with such criticisms is that they are trying to make out it's something it's not. Thea's work is not pretending to be anything other than it is. Those that criticise it see it from a very, very, blinkered perspective. They attribute more to it than there is and then criticise/knock it down on these (their) terms. You might as well complain that the works of Shakespeare are a terrible abuse when it comes to assessing the beauty of a tree. After all a book (at some point) came from wood pulp which comes from a tree. Just because its stone does not mean it is a wall, and arguably not at all if it's actually trying to be art. It's a bit like Pat McAfee's dislike of Oatmeal Stout because it's not Guinness. Neither is it Guinness or pretending to be so, neither is it red wine, both are what they are and ought to be enjoyable in their own right. 

 If you cannot appreciate this diversity your life is probably the less for it. You might as well criticise an elephant for being grey but not being a dry stone wall. Thea's work is technically flawed, but it is artistic and I'd defy any of the naysayers to produce anything nearly as good at the rates she does and so there is I think more to her work than meets the eye of these naysayers. If Goldsworthy did it and photographed it as art it would be lauded.

It is easy to be negative about things, far more difficult to stand back and work out why something might be good and work out why others might appreciate it even if you don't. The British art galleries have contained Gainsborough, Turner and piles of bricks at the same time. It is unlikely that everyone likes them all, but even if you dislike one aspect, if you cannot realise why others might appreciate it, it is probably you that is at fault or at least missing out on something. 

Those that criticise everything that is not 'pure' or 'correct', walling are the equivalent of the Nazis when it comes to stonework.  If you want to defend Thea within your art theme blog (and I would suggest you ought to) please feel free to quote any of this... 'proper walling' according to whom - the wallin' (Waffen) SS?, pah !!!!  Rant is concluded. " Sean Adcock

Sean Adcock on the theme of Art and Collaboration *

"Does setting stones differently, vertical, slanted, putting triangles and seats into it turn it into art? Where does design become art? I really do not have much of an inkling. The purely functional can be aesthetically pleasing but does that make it art? Virtually everything I do is pure farm field walls, there is little scope for art. I have never particularly liked it when someone says that wall's a work of art, or you're an artist. I just build walls."

"Perhaps the 'mundane' can be raised by its actual execution if in the hands of the right individual(s). Perhaps even with a straightforward field wall there is some scope for artistry. Even the straight forward can be executed in a number of ways and to a certain extent there is something artistic in producing a good looking wall, something that many (perhaps the majority) of wallers within an agricultural imperative do not bring to their work. I like to make my walls flow and fit in with the landscape with lines which please the eye and neat tidy stonework which doesn't jar. But all this is in the eye of the beholder, if Jackson Pollock was a waller ...."

Jackson Pollrock?

"Where does the 'wing wall' (that we built in California) fit in? I think it dispels the worry that we'd peaked early with our 'pyro-mid', a pinnacle that we'd unlikely ever approach. I'm not sure how much any of it was to do with me, although the design did feel as if it was a very collaborative effort. I have an inkling that after your initial design most of the ideas seemed to come to 2 or 3 of us almost simultaneously. "

"As with all these things we seem to know instinctively that the end result will look right. It is perfectly proportioned for the space, and that is something you cannot possible know, yet have to know from the outset. It could not be changed or amended half way through. We had an idea of what we wanted, had to work out how to fit it in, proportion it and then go with it. It was not entirely straightforward but really we came up with the ideal 'solutions' very quickly. There are the right number of bays, they curve in every direction by the right amount. "

"By god we're good but exactly why is perhaps a little indefinable. Had any one of us not been there, the wing wall would have worked, it would have been good, maybe great, I doubt that it would have been as good as it is. This wall and our collaboration is far greater than the sum of its parts."

Burren College

http://www.burrencollege.ie/college/gallery

A few years ago Patrick McAfee and Gavin Rose and I visited Burren College of Art in Ireland. 

I remember being very impressed with the school and their 'expanding' vision of what art is and can be. 

I believe they have the right idea.

I think art thrives best where there is a supportive community to encourage it and enjoy it. 

Stonefest 2014

Stonefest

This is going to be very creative.  See you there ?

Conception and Execution

Dry stone art can start with the conception and go through various promising stages of creation yet all too often ends up being 'finished off' in a rushed or untimely execution.

Obviously not art ?

 "Tranquility"     acrylic on silk, mounted on shaped panel     48 x 60 inches (122 x 125 cm)

Nolan Haan 's Tranquility

Which is likely have more aesthetically pleasing results -
a waller using uniform block shaped stones laid in courses to create a  solid looking dry stone 'feature'.... 

Wall by Andrew Currie

... or a waller, by arranging a random assortment of more challenging shapes and sizes, creates something that, even though it is just as permanent, causes us to wonder how it could be actually dry laid?

Good art transcends both the medium and the technique that was used to create it. There is often a mysterious almost effortless quality associated with it. Wallers attempting to be similarly creative (even though they may be working at higher levels than most qualified masons) should try to avoid having their work end up looking overly 'structural'. The dynamics of a work ( and our craft in general ) will be destroyed if the false criteria of everything having to appear to have been done 'by the book' prevails. Obviousness stifles artistry. 

Wall Art

streetartutopia.com

The principle of true art is not to portray, but to evoke. Jerzy Kosinski

By Alaniz: Flickr / Facebook.

Define art?

Opus 40 is a huge environmental dry stone sculpture built by one man, Harvey Fite. It is described in this video as "one of the greatest (and) most remarkable pieces of art.....an elegant...artistic triumph". 

As to the question - What is Art? it is almost impossible to give a concise definition. It would be even more difficult to have a consensus as to what should and should not be included as definitive examples of true 'art'. 

Opus 40 provides a setting for performance art of various kinds, as well as poetry readings and the displaying of works of art and sculpture. As such it represents for me the diversity of dry stone artistry as it encompasses 'what art is' on a larger scale,

The art of dry stone doesn't have to be just the end product, it's often not just the finished work, it is the work - the event. As a structural dance of suspended choreography it can have many forms. These forms evolve and in some cases, as seen in this video, they even bring artists and craftsmen-and-women back together to be creatively restored. 

The art of building with dry stone is fundamentally the process of adaption and improvisation. What better way to celebrate this fact than holding a jazz concert within the artistic setting of Opus 40.

Plumbing as Art - Does it hold water?

Copper sculpture and dry stone wall both by Scott George. Photo by John S-R

Can plumbing be 'art' ?

Is it bad art if it doesn't hold water ?

Does it have to meet code ?

Do artists who work with copper pipes have to be certified plumbers?

The 'a' word

When someone uses the ‘a’ word when referring to themselves, it can be really annoying. You’d be wise to avoid calling yourself an ‘artist’ if you can. 

I admire those who have been careful not to get caught up in the temptation to give themselves that title, especially on their websites.  Let others call you an artist if they want. Better to just be creative. 

Self-proclaimed artists are often not that creative anyway, unless of course it is in imagining they are artists.

Mistaking something for Art

Working with stone sometimes gives us the opportunity to craft something that is not just useful and functional but also creative. Creativity among other things involves taking risks. It is often a trial an error thing. That's how we come up with new things - how we make things, including mistakes.  The worst mistake is to think something we've done is good or worth keeping just because we did it. Just because we are trying to be creative doesn't mean we are.

Isaac Bashevis Singer wrote “The wastepaper basket is the writer’s best friend. ”  

Our medium is stone. It's where our ideas are expressed. We don't discard the stones but ideas sometimes have to be thrown out to make room for better ideas. In any case we should be thoroughly editing our own stuff long before anyone else sees it. This is not a bad thing. Walls can be taken down to make room for others. 

Because dry laid stones are not set in concrete, we have little excuse for letting a 'creation' of ours stand if we know it to be unworthy.   

The Creative Block

I thought this piece by my imaginary design assistant Andy Blockworthy, could kick off a new series in T.W.M.H. about 'Art and Dry Laid Stone'.  

Those of us who create with stone sometimes get 'waller's block'. These mental blocks, just like problem rocks, are sent to stretch our imagination. Let's try to be creative with them.

Heres my first suggestion. Buy this book.

creative block

As of February 18th, 2014 CREATIVE BLOCK will be on shelves all over the world! I am still pinching myself to tell you the truth. I could not be more proud of this collection of interviews and art work, and am so thankful to Chronicle Books for making it happen.

WHAT’S IT ALL ABOUT:

I came up with the idea for CREATIVE BLOCK for myself, just as much as for all of you. I wanted to make something beautiful – a contemporary art book filled not only with inspiring images, but also inspiring words, advice, and tips to help amateurs and professionals alike, find their way through those days when the ideas just won’t come. Because everyone who dabbles in something creative{writers, musicians, actors, artists} feels that way at some point – right? Right. I wanted to write this book to show you that if you’re feeling this way you’re not alone either. I’ve written hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of posts about successful, working artists who seem to have this whole “creative thing” figured out. But surely they have blocks from time to time? How do they get through them? Where do they find fresh inspiration? How do they handle negative feedback? Does it stop them in their tracks? Now, these full time artists don’t have the luxury of not finishing, or giving up on a project – not when they’ve got a gallery or art buyer waiting on them! So how do they push themselves through those moments when the ideas just aren’t there? Or when the ideas are there, but their hands or materials will not cooperate.

http://www.thejealouscurator.com/blog/

Modern Sand Castles

http://iwastesomuchtime.com/on/?i=88232

Caged Minerals

Wandering Minstrels

Minerals are our friends

Maintaining a good supply of proper environments and minerals is the best way to keep a healthy body of dry stone wallers active and working efficiently. After all minerals, which are basically rocks, are the building blocks of our day to day life.  

Although most of the minerals we require are found near where we live and work, some job sites have less minerals than others.  

And because we consume a lot of minerals in a normal working day, sometimes it's necessary to bring in mineral supplements from elsewhere. While most of these extra daily minerals can be procured in bulk, by the truckload, some of the more important minerals may have to be specially brought in. And where else better to look for precious minerals than a mineral store? 



The good news is you won't need any prescriptions (or require safety boots or a hard hat) to shop at a mineral store. All the rocks are sold over the counter. You can often find some real gems there too.

 

Some stores have special surprise grab bags of rocks available to buy which makes walling even more fun when you don't know what you're actually 'taking' until you get back to the job.

Very rarely should actual 'trace' minerals be used, that is, 'along' the wall. Ideally they should be taken internally, into the main body of the wall. Complex minerals in specific amounts are very useful for the cheekends, the footings, the main innards of the wall, whereas fractured minerals should be consumed in large doses to maintain a good hearting.

Beware the Irish of March

Thanks to Shelagh Lippay for composing and sending this her timely St Patricks Day poem.

Middle of March Arches

http://www.middlemarch.co.nz/activities/arches/index.html