The Ship that Sails in a Line... by NefariousDrO
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Description
I'm not sure where the title came from, perhaps I'm too tired (or perhaps the homebrew my neighbor brought over has been a bit over-indulged) In any case, it was one of those magnificent days where the sun was warm without being too hot. The spring flowers have filled the air to the point where it's easy to imagine you can swim in its scents.
The array of stone pillars here was inspired somewhat by the Viking ship-mounds and the great saracen-stones of the british isles. I vacillate between circles and ship-shapes, but why should I choose?
This ship doesn't choose, and it is wise enough to know that there is no such thing as a straight line in the sea, but rather it follows its own kind of curving, flowing logic that is most easily grasped if one doesn't think logically, but trusts to intuition.
It also gave the neighbors something to gawk at, which seems to amuse them to no end.
As always, these weren't glued or held in place by wires or metal rods. I find the idea of drilling holes and running rods through stones like this
disturbing
it feels almost like slavery to me
I will not chain these stones to any one shape, they have a will of their own and the best results come when I listen to them, rather than try to impose my own desires.
I'm always surprised by the people who say I must have a great deal of patience to do this. The truth is that I rarely spend more than a few minutes on each stack. The rocks tell you what works, for lack of any better way to describe it. If it doesn't work after a few minutes it's clearly not the right approach, so I back up and try something different. This entire array took less than 30 minutes to make. I think that's what I like the most about this, it's not so much what I want, but learning to accept the way the world is moving and allowing myself to appreciate it for its own merits rather than my own desires. Which sound much more Zen-like than I usually live, truth be told.
At any rate, thanks for taking a look, and I hope everyone had a good weekend, and as always comments are definitely welcome.
Comments (17)
Faemike55
Very, very cool work!!! one of these days, I've got to try this myself! Great work and image! thank you for sharing these with us
RodS
Well, you must be listening to the rocks very well, Mike! This is just waaay too cool! This is truly a form of dynamic art, and I for one think it's extremely cool!
geirla
Excellent! I would have thought it would take more time than that, but I guess it comes with practice. If the rocks really to speak to you though, I would suggest cutting back on the homebrew...
ia-du-lin
beautiful stone sculptures, very nice shot
auntietk
When I saw this, I thought, "Oh, Spring!" :) What an uplifting image! :)
KnightWolverine
Greeting Michigan Neighbor!... I'm going to get a camera and go to one of our gravel quarries...A couple of guys that work there stack boulders like you stack stones when they are bored...only they use heavy machines and 10 ton boulders....lol..same principles apply here right?....lol.....just a matter of becoming one with your stone...or boulder in this case...(smiles)... Oh and your warmer days are over....sending you mid 40's the next couple days....sorry.....if I have to go back to reality then so don't you.....lol....
jocko500
you been busy as a bee here makeing all this. cool looking too
Debwhosmiles
Once again I wish Rendo would have a "Like" button on comments (yes, similar to FB ). Would let people know they agree/enjoy what you have written. ;) You have a talent to "read" rocks, years of balancing them here and there have positively honed it! I agree with your text, always good to have something to muse about. =) Thx for sharing, good shot of the bunch!
kjer_99
Sometimes, I think it would be worth a trip up to Michigan just to view your rocks first hand. It probably says a lot about both our minds, but I understand exactly what you are saying about your relationship to the rocks and how they tell you what to do. What you are doing is a sort of "tactile meditation." I suspect you've given your neighbors something to look forward to each day. ("I wonder what he's come up with for today? kind of deal.) If you moved away, they'd be surprised how much they missed having that aspect of their lives around.
thelordofdragons
There is something rather intruiging everytime i sit here and see the patience in your presentation's, i however have the balancing skills of a 1 legged man in a backside kicking competition and i just cant make normal building blocks balance,,,truly ramazing, fantastic picture too.
MagikUnicorn
Splendid and hope no earthquake now lol
Chipka
I love the title. It actually makes me think of Armada, which is a city in a China Mivielle novel ("The Scar" in case you're interested.) Armada is one of those inventions I wish I'd come up with. It could be described as a ship that sails in a line, as it's a city composed of ships tethered together...so maybe it's a city that sails in a clump? At any rate, your title made me think of that! And as for the image...These will never cease to amaze me. I have yet to try any of this myself, but I'm sure that I will. I love the possibilities that this art form possesses, naturally...and whenever I see these, I can always think of the mysterious inner-workings of some un-known socieity, it's rock-artisains working carefully to choose, arrange, and balance the rocks, just so. This is super.
soffy
Beautiful stone sculptures you made and the idea behind it is fascinating,looks fantastic**
bmac62
I don't get by your gallery half often enough! This is a fabulous array. Yesterday your sculptures came to mind when Tara (auntietk) and I were walking our dog along a sand spit that encloses a natural harbor at Port Angeles, Washington. The spit has formed over many, many years from river silt washing into the Strait of Juan de Fuca from the nearby Elwha River. Along with the silt has come tons of flat, smooth river rock of all sizes. Hence, I was able to take baby steps in rock stacking with one hand and maybe 1 or 2 mintes per stack. Now, you've got me hooked to try something more difficult. I posted something today advertising your skills;-)
skiwillgee
Dang I hate I missed this when you posted it. This is fabulous! I bet the stones are saying, "Stand tall when the mower approaches, we will prevail".
eekdog
kewl! would love one for my front yard.
blankfrancine Online Now!
These sculptures never cease to amaze me, Mike. I don't know how I overlooked this pic before.If only these stones could talk, they must have seen plenty during the eons of their existence!