Limestone

Limestone.

 There's poetry to it. To me, the resemblance of limestone to human bone engenders a connection that's visceral and magical. As old sea beds, limestone reveals former inhabitants; shells, fish and other aquatic life. Like the wonder I feel when I walk on a frozen pond - I never tire of the sensation that I am walking where I would not have been able to walk before. This limestone has a creamy texture, slightly alkaline on my hands, a soft, soapy feeling that is novel in my ecosystem where acid and rough quartz dominates.This limestone came from Kansas, more exactly, from the sidewalk leading to an Opera House somewhere there. I smile when imagining people spilling out from Tosca, or Carmen onto these rectangles - their bodies filled with arias and stories set to song. I'd like to think that over the years, the music may have made it's way into the stone. I get the feeling that there's more Magic Flute than Ring Cycle in this stone.

The layering of story in the stone, the sea beds, the Opera, and now here, compels me. True, everything has a story. However, there's a power to hearing a narrative from someone, seeing evidence of that narrative in an object and then integrating it into an installation that just does not exist in many pre-fab or over-designed objects these days. The imperfections of chisel marks and wear indicate that these stones were connected to people, the ones that mined the stone and the ones that walked the stone. Salvage materials, antiques, slow food, herbal medicine, these are ways of connecting to deeply satisfying feelings of humanity and the powerful stories that we all carry within.

The limestone patio space is about 450 square feet. The generosity of the stone size creates a bold pattern that relates to the strong lines of the house. Having the patio at ground level creates a more instantaneous connection to the landscape than the previous wood deck did. The renderings illustrate the anticipated final result. The columns that resemble those on the front porch, would support red triangles of canvas that could be rolled and unrolled like a sailing jib, as the weather dictates.The following photos are at the intermediate stage of installation, as well as some details of the beautiful shells and chisel marks. I'll include photos of the finished installation in the spring.