On Hanging Stones and Stackings

Liz,



I would like nothing more than to talk about my stones. Unfortunately for you, it may seem more like a manifesto than a chat. Feel free to flee!

Pack It In … Pack It Out
Leave No Trace Behind



I hang rocks. That is what I do. I leave a trace. I scream at the top of by lungs, “I too have been here.” Leave No Stone Unturned is a much better fit.
















My intent is not to change anything. The rock remains a rock unless it decides to be dust. The wire remains wire unless it decides to be rust. The bead remains a bead unless it decides to be a kaleidoscope of crushed glass on the ground. The bell remains a bell unless it decides to be mute.

















My stones change nothing save perception or association. I hang a stone and a hundred questions and scenarios rebound within my skull. My realities. Possibly yours. A found stone is on its own. Reality ... to be determined.












Here is what I do for myself. (Redheaded Sisters)





I do hanging stone groupings.




The groupings may be symbolic (family), about the stone (Rock River stones), or about the components (contrast and contradiction of stone and found objects). Sorry, could not find my pix of the one a traded the other day.

I leave what I call Hanging Stones when I travel.



Whether it is in a city or on a trail, the intent is the same. Hidden treasures. What would the finders think when they discovered the stone? When they turned a corner and happened upon a stone, would it be ….ahhh, Bruce was here … wow! … or what the crap?

I stack stones. I love to do them and I love to find them. (Marginal Way, Ogunquit - 37th anniversary 38 stones)I have always thought the appeal was about the vertical. (Flood recovery Williamsville)



When I find one while hiking, I must add a stone. That stone makes it mine … at least until another stone claims it for someone else. Visitors to the Jewish cemetery in Prague would leave small stones on the gravestones. These miniature stackings intrigued me. The stones were like an exchange of messages. Do they speak to you? No? Maybe they were whisphering. Finding stacked stones is often the highlight of a hike … even more, I love leaving them for others ... especially deciding just the right place to leave them.

So …. you still there? Think about what you are looking for. Grouping in a special place on your property … with local stones or Rock Rover ones. Or, a single stone or multiple stones tucked away along a special walkway. Or a cairn … or a stacking. Whatever. Think about it … Spring is probably best. Take a look at these pix to decide if the idea and the actual object are a good match for what you are thinking about. If so, just let me know and we will work something out.

bruce

Donner Party

About a year ago, I visited a studio in central Vermont and saw some work based on Peruvian mummies. The pieces were wrapped in colorful cloth and earthy tones and hung in shadow boxes. I wanted to use the idea in some way in pieces that I do. I did a piece for the porch based on what I had seen but envisioned the parcels as something wrapped by a black widow spider. I wrapped arms and legs from my Barbie doll parts with tattered strips of colorful clothe and wound that with monofilament line to simulate a spider’s silk thread.

I expanded the idea to a series of five shadowboxes on barn board containing similar wrapped body parts. Each box also contained bone circles as contrasting background inside the box. As a header for the piece, I used a piece of driftwood that ran the width of the barn board. The driftwood had a small indentation about midway. The idea that I was playing with was a black widow spider nest egg for a rainy day or some kind of automated delicatessen with preserved body parts for man-eating spiders. I don’t know where this idea came from, but I have it and have to live with it.

Meanwhile, I found a piece of melted glassed (the bottom of a bottle) that had been in a fire. It caught my eye because it was shaped just like a mouth and lips. I hollowed out the indentation in the barn board and glued in the glass with lots of gorilla glue. It foamed up great when it dried so it looked like a mouth foaming and frothing. I got another idea for the piece. I inserted a small hand so it protruded from the lips. Hanging from the end of the barn board, I attached an old, rusted serving fork. From my pantry, I got a can of Manwich Sandwich in order to get the label. I cut out two pieces to glue inside of the two shadowboxes. One said “Manwich Sandwich” and the other said “Joe’s special meat sauce”.

I decided to call the piece The Donner Party.

In August, after the flooding, I did a sale in order to donate all proceeds to disaster relief locally. I was delighted when my friend Ginny came by an indicated that she wished to buy The Donner Party ... only if I would change the name!


For some strange reason, I do not expect this piece to sell.

November 2011 - I stand corrected. I sold this to my friend Ginny!