Sunday 26 April 2015

Balsam Lake's Dry Stone Walls

  

For the last 2 years I've had the great opportunity to spend a week up in Balsam Lake rebuilding sections of a historic wall. The walls were commissioned by George Laidlaw on his Fort Ranch property. Laidlaw was born in Scotland and emigrated to Toronto in 1855. He prospered as a grain merchant and wharf owner in the Gooderham & Worts Distillery District on the east side of downtown Toronto. Laidlaw was also a successful railroad barron advocating for narrow gauge railways building the Toronto Grey & Bruce Railway, The Toronto & Nippissing Railway, and the Credit Valley Railway. In 1871, Laidlaw purchased 6000 acres of land around the western shore of Balsam Lake and used the land to raise sheep and cattle. In 1880, Laidlaw hired a Scottish waller (Mr. Scott) to come and build the drystone walls that stretch around the property. Scott hired local labour to help construct the 3 miles of dry stone walls that still stand to this day. If you are ever in the Balsam Lake Ontario area, make sure you take a drive down Balsam Lake Dr. to see the walls. You feel like you are instantly transported to the UK once you turn towards the Laidlaw property. They are the longest stretch of dry stone walls in Canada. And with a large amount of them still standing, these walls are a great example of how properly constructed dry stone walls can last for over 100 years in our Canadian climate.

Sunday 19 April 2015

Three Generations

The past couple of days have been a really enjoyable weekend of walling. I had the great opportunity to lead the beginnings of a three generational walling project north of Waterloo on a family homestead. I always enjoy my time instructing. The enthusiasm of the students is always a great energy to be around. Sasha, Paul and Peter were a pleasure to work with and I'm looking forward to the next walling weekend. The past 2 days have been very productive and what started out as a 20 ton pile of limestone rubble has now turned Into the beginnings of a very tidy looking retaining wall. Great job guys! 











Thursday 16 April 2015

JB Stonecraft


John Bland of JB Stonecraft is a Canadian Waller/Designer based out of Montreal. He does some exceptional stonework as you can see above. His work with slate which you will see on his web page, is inspiring for me to continue working on my own designs. If you are in the Kingston area, more specifically the Amherst Island area, on the weekend of Sept 25th - 27th the Dry Stone Canada is holding their 3rd annual festival. John Bland is designing this years Main feature. The concept for the feature involves predicting the future by creating a solar alignment at a pre-determined time and space. The feature will be positioned and built without any prior observation. It will be something not to be missed!

Sunday 12 April 2015

Thinking With My Hands


The photo above is of an arch that was built by John Shaw-Rimmington in 2005. John has been a huge influence in Canada and worldwide in the realm of dry stone walling and stonework in general. I chose this particular arch that he built back in 2005 to talk about because it is one of the pieces that I saw back then that influenced my decision to pursue my path in walling. I was amazed in seeing that a random pile of stone in a field could be transformed into a free standing arch without the aid of mortar or any other adhesives. John and his family moved to my home town of Port Hope and to my luck just down the road from my parents. I was starting to switch career paths around the same time and was considering a path in Masonry. My younger brother recommend I talk with the 'stone guy at the end of the street'. So I offered to take John out for lunch to see if he could answer my questions and solidify my recent decision. Our conversation revolved around stone but our common interest in Jazz and 'thinking outside of the box' made me realize that maybe I'm on the right path.

 (My first foundation stones laid at the 2007 Dry Stone Festival)

 I started to immerse myself into the world of dry stone walls and took every opportunity I could to find a pile of stone to stack up. I would bombard John with pictures where he would give encouraging feedback and post some of my pics on his site. I started taking some of his courses that he offered and continued my push to a full time career in stone (photo above of my very first course). Over the years John's encouragement and enthusiasm was largely influential in my path and I know the same lies for a lot of wallers here in Canada. John has a blog 'Thinking with my hands' where he talks about a wide array of stone topics. If you're anything like me and are always looking for things to read about stone, this blog is not to be missed. There are years of archives that I recommend if your a stone enthusiast to go through. 

Thursday 9 April 2015

Future Aztek Designs







Aaron Hemeon from Tofino, BC., is an artist who creates custom hand crafted jewelery. I really like the organic feel of the copper around the selected stones. You can tell that the stone is almost dictating the form of the wire and once the seperate materials are entangled they become one cohesive piece. The 2 pics above are just a sample of his work. He has some other beautiful pieces that you can purchase on his Etsy Page Future Aztek

I asked Aaron to give some insight on his art and how the materials inspire the pieces. Here is his response.

"I started creating jewelry with a concern to acquire something concrete or more permanent from certain states of mind.  Many of us spend energy creating peace and joy in our lives.  It has been my aim that during the more desirable moments I could capture this outlook into a form of art.  This has lead to less prolific output, and a finicky motivation.  It has also increased my desire to attain the kind of attitude from which I work best.

Most of the pieces begin without a preconceived design.  I let the stone guide my hands; tending toward hesitations, never forcing any movements.  I have noticed that certain stones tend to encourage similar designs.  Every time I work with Amethyst the patterns lean toward ornate flourishes, whereas Tibetan black quartz usually comes out much more minimal.

While I appreciate "new age" books on stones and their "metaphysical properties," speculating on the healing potential of crystals is somewhere on my outskirts.  More than playing the role of healer, I see myself as a gatherer of power, offering it freely to those who are ready to carry new hope.  That being said, pride is a delicate subject for the men of North America.  Our fathers wear discount golf shirts, sensible pants and shuffle around their wood shops in well worn boat shoes.  The fashion genre of anti-fashion.  This is the individual who "doesn't wear jewelry." 

However, fashion has always contained an antithetical element within it which is usually at risk of been too odd and misunderstood or, on the other end, too trendy.  Beyond this infinite cycle of the "consumer," I think, awaits personal meaning.  That is to say, the particulars of one's dress are the touchstones, the sign posts that remind and mark the paths that lead to fuller understanding.  To adorn oneself in public is to have somehow acquired the confidence to do so.  There is a kind of permission for high dress.  In an ideal society individuality takes the place of simple identifications with genres (the surfer, the punk, the literary genius, the carpenter).

The challenges I now face and have struggled with since I began to create art have to do with the day to day interactions in business.  I beleive that the future of Canada has a lot to do with our ability to produce objects of worth out of raw materials.  Here in BC, we shipped a lot of wood overseas (to Japan) and didn't quite learn to create artifacts of the high skill level we find sold cheaply in our secondhand stores.  I am thinking about those hand carved bowls from Indonesia you can buy for a couple bucks at the salvation army.  When we the colonizers drop our financial hangups about whether "there's money in it," we get a chance to join the rest of the world cultures in telling our stories in priceless forms.  This, more than having an ideal household situation (a cabin in the woods, or a condo downtown) is what I see as the path that can glimpse a future for all of us a thousand years off - infinite work that brings us closer, not farther from nature."


Tuesday 7 April 2015

Homemade Castle



The video above is of Valhalla Castle that was constructed by Ron Hall in New Milford, Pa., Susquehanna County. Ron started in 1978 and finished by 2006. About 125 tons of locally sourced  stone was used to build the Castle. Visitors are welcome. You can find it along route 848 in New Milford Township. it has a footprint of about 1450 sqft and reaches as high as 36 feet tall. There are three towers and of course a moat.

Thursday 2 April 2015

Dry Stone Walls - Ryan Stananought a.k.a Page Turner

 

My friend Ryan Stananought who is also a dry stone waller, who is also a singer songwriter, wrote this great ode to dry stone wallers the other day. Recorded live from 'In the truck' studios, click the above link and have a listen.

Wednesday 1 April 2015

Quiet Nature


Quiet Nature is a great Landscaping company based out of Ayr On. They are a leader in the field of sustainable environmentally conscious landscapes. I've been lucky to take part and collaborate with QN over the last couple seasons on some really great projects. This past weekend I helped build a couple small seating walls For their booth at the KW home and garden show. We used some random materials found at their shop to show that any old pile of stone on your property can be transformed into a beautiful dry stone feature.  When visiting the show, it was almost like being transported to Cottage country when I stopped by the booth to chat with owner Derek Lippert. Please take a moment to visit their site (quietnature.ca) and see some of their award winning landscapes and don't forget to click the video above to learn about QN's amazing natural swim ponds.