Most all my life I've been a stone gatherer. Even on backpacking trips, where the weight of everything taken has to be carefully considered, I'm unable to resist  bringing heavy stones back home.
     While living in New York City, the nearby wilderness hiking trails of Harriman State Park were an important refuge and counterpart to the intensity of urban life. The very first date my wife and I had was a walk through Popolopin Gorge near Bear Mountain where a river plunges through boulders into the Hudson about thirty miles above Manhattan. On many of our subsequent visits, a favorite part of the day would be scurrying about the rocks and stacking them into sculptures. It was then, a little over twenty years ago, that I began to think about making these compositions into permanent works, but lack of experience in crafting stone kept this urge a fantasy. But some passions prove immortal and life here on the bedrock of the South Toe River patiently nurtured my desire to a kindling point that was sparked by discovering  the work of the New Zealand sculptor Chris Booth. The scale, beauty and soul of his stone sculpture as well as his personal charm and lifelong dedication to a vision is both humbling and inspirational. In 2009, after attending the international artists' symposium called CollaboratioNZ in Whangarei, New Zealand, where stands one of his most ambitious works, "Waka and Wave", I had a  serendipitous meeting with Chris which instilled a force within me to begin making what had for so long resided in my imagination.

My technique is simple. Stones are arranged in balance with minimal alteration to a point of resolve, then fixed permanently  by invisibly drilling and pinning with steel. I am fond of using the human scale, as the works often have a gesture as well as a narrative association.  When several finished pieces stand together they tend to suggest figures in the landscape communicating with each other.

I am drawn by this opportunity to give ancient, silent stones, wrought over millions of years, a special chance to ground viewers in their near immortal beauty and soulful presence.
While I usually prefer  to leave the stones as close to their original condition as possible,
alterations are frequently made to add structural integrity and stability.  Sometimes conceptual ideas are suggested too, like here with the addition of the stone and steel chain fragment in this sculpture titled "Untethered". The broken chain is intended to suggest someone being freed or released. In this case,  that would be me from all the doubt and ignorance that had previously sabotaged my dream to make these new works in stone.

I'm always on the lookout for stones with which to work and play. One of my favorite sites is on the North Carolina coast where a large pile of granite has been left to form a jetty. It doesn't take long for the sharp edges of these freshly mined boulders to be softened by the sandy winds and crashing tides.  Here, while lifting with my arms hugging a piece and hands against the sensuous skin of these salty forms, I was unable to resist a taste with my tongue.
Some stones are so individually dramatic they don't invite companionship. Such was the case with the tree trunk like pedestal in "The Gift".  My intent here was to honor the trunk like quality and suggest branching. The small human heart shaped stone on the right reminded me of a fruit, certainly one of natures most compelling and sensuous gifts. And our heart, both physically and spiritually is probably the most essential component of our survival and guidance.
"In the Beginning"                                       52" tall
"Anne Marie"                                              80" tall
"Fish"                                                               32" tall
"Untethered"                                                64" tall
"Untethered"                                                       58" tall
"The Gift"                                                                 84" tall
"Bridge"                                                               8' tall
This is my most ambitious stone work to date called "Counsel of Elders", which gathers much of the work I have been doing for the past year.  It is a themed comission to represent essentials of human being. Looking through the arch are "Freedom" and "Guidance", to the far right "Choice", on the left "Expression" and the arch symbolizes partnership. When installed, water will emerge from the foreground stones then flow  through the arch into a small pond, around and in which the sculptures will be arranged and reflected.
Sometimes the references are more obvious than others as in "Fish".