rock balancing

The Gift

Those that know me, understand that I find contentment in simple things. For Christmas I received a pretty incredible, yet simple gift.  No wrapping involved with this one. A bit of sunshine and time alone in a creek. The perfect holiday in my opinion

Creek Wanderings

Visited a new spot, far off the beaten path. Wandered for a while to get there…usually makes for better stone balancing. So much to see and investigate along the way. It’s like a mini journey close to home. Various angles of 2 builds

Ephemeral (video)

I built this little balance in Deschambault, Quebec Canada in June while there for the art exhibition –  Dur comme d’la roche.  I was fortunate to experience this event put on by the I documented it through photography as well as video. I downloaded all the images and data upon returning home to the USA and kinda forgot about it. Fortunately I stumbled across it recently…Put together this short piece together to highlight the ephemeral life of a stone balance along the St. Lawrence River or anywhere for that matter. The precarious ones usually don’t last very long, often succumbing to slight wind. I was fortunate to spend a few hours with this creation before its was gone forever 🙂

Press from the event:

 

DSC_4524

My final selected image for this piece

Barronvale Bridge (revisited)

Revisited an old favorite spot today. Round here, it was the first day of “buck deer season”… figured the odds of getting shot wandering a remote creek were highly probable, so I went to a location that I figured to be safe(r) and set to work. Kinda surprised to find some ice on the creek. Once my hands were in for a WHile, I was educated to the fact of how the ice had formed. I’ve been foregoing the rubber gloves as much as possible in favor of dexterity and well…basically procrastination. I know there’ll be plenty of days where going raw pawed won’t be as tolerable.

This is the Barronvale covered bridge in Somerset County, Pennsylvania. A beautiful spot visited by many. I’ve posted a few balance photos from here before (see comments). It’s a beautiful creek. Home to some awesome stones, quite unique in shapes and state of polish. If you’re ever in the area. Stop and check this place out. Particularly upstream from the covered bridge. Pick up a few stones…see what you come up with ❤

 

Linn Run balancing 11.18.16

Spent a great deal of the morning stone balancing at Linn Run State Park, PA. It was a chilly morning. I was quickly reminded of early winter balancing. Not all wet rocks are simply wet. Some are actually covered in a thin coating of ice.  I was carrying an arm load of rocks that I had collected when all of a sudden I was airborne. Took a hard spill draping myself over a large boulder and eventually coming to a rest after smashing my forearm against something. Laid on the ground for a minute composing myself before “walking it off” and chuckling a bit. Went to work balancing coming up with several completed pieces. Lighting wasn’t ideal, but I did the best I could. Eventually I was stiff enough to head home. Time for a little therapy to help with the bumps and bruises -Cheers

Creation – the process (video)

I spent the day at Ohiopyle State Park enjoying the fall conditions and creating some stone balances. Here’s a video of the  balance process and a few photos of finished balances from the day. Enjoy

 

Boom, its fall

It seemed to happen overnight. The familiar change from warm, summer waters to chilly creeks and vibrant color. Hit the woods early yesterday morning to take advantage of the clear and calm conditions. I believe that waders will be the norm from now on. Downright cold…Brrr. Stone balancing conditions with vigor. Hot coffee was a requirement. Eventually the sun crept into my little nook and provided a whole new level of smiles. A few photos… different angles, colorations, variations. Good stuff for my soul 🙂