The first questionthat is asked when guests
see my Stone people
is, "are they glued?"
The second is
"what is the meaning behind it?"
The first answer is, "No
they are just balancing there!"
The second is,
"I am not really sure what
the meaning is, but its fun
and I am not sure why!"
During a significant period of time
spent walking the Windsor trail
down by the beach,
a girlfriend and I
would randomly
stop and create rock sculptures
(again, the amount of rocks
in the desert is astounding
and plentiful!
Got to LOVE rocks to live here
and I do,
she doesn't so much.)
Actually, this was her idea
and I had never tried this,
"defy gravity activity
using such large
heavy finger crunching"
objects like a house of cards
and not.
I had admired them
in the silent gardens
and beach scape's of Maui,
feeling as my guests do seeing them
the first time
"why and how?"
After making a few...
the goal becomes clear
how high can you go
and how much you will you ask of
and trust gravity?
To keep rocks balancing
on one another
that really shouldn't,
and then there's how to jump back
quick enough to protect
exposed ankles and toes
when they start to tumble
ground ward
(This is sort of fun to observe,
especially depending on who it is!)
Soon enough it became
clear there was a competition
not just on height
but also creativity
seeking to add
suggestive rock faces, hats,
beaks, noses...
...the crowning glory.
The best part of this,
was when we returned
the following week end
for our ritual walk,
thirty more had been
added to the village.
Had the vibration not toppled
them we might have jumped
up and down joyfully!
What a sight!
When I didn't get down
there anymore
she relayed to me that sadly
someone had knocked
most of them over,
"Are you sure it wasn't the wind?"
I asked!
Hard to believe such beauty
and skill and contribution
would be kicked apart!
Missing this activity greatly
and being in operation revamp
my backyard/ playground mode,
a pile of garden rocks took
on a new purpose.
In the far corner of my yard
Twelve stone people
stand around a metal fire sculpture
like a stoic majestic village.
Tall and short in
an amazing feat of balance
and juxtaposed placement
of shapes and colors and sizes,
each mound, surprisingly,
with their own personality.
The energy that is displayed
is profound
and I see it in my guests eyes
when they
view them for the first time
"would never dream of gluing them
together" I respond
because it is in the act
of building them
that I love.
Can't really describe it.
Instead? I invite you to build
one yourself.
As far as the meaning behind it?
My research
did not find anything significant
about that,
except it is an activity loved
around the world by many!
And to my rock sculpture friend,
...the wind DOES indeed
blow them over.
Gratefully tho,
because the recreation
is an opportunity to go higher
and be more clever than before!
Maybe its all about
the art of balance
in its most basic
and primitive stone beauty!
Pam Piper Rain
I wear words