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Asheville Stone Mason travels to Maine for International Stone Symposium

10/18/2014

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Now that the craziness of Summer has subsided, its time to reflect back on my experiences of the year.  One of the most memorable was the road trip to Maine to participate in the Stone Foundation's International Stone Symposium.  The symposium is held each year in a different location in this (or another) country.  Three years ago we were fortunate enough to have it here in Asheville!  This year I was the sole representative from Asheville, and one of three from North Carolina.  For me it is very important to connect each year with the international community of stonemasons, sculptors, quarriers, and stone enthusiasts because it puts the work that I do in a greater context, and the knowledge and inspiration that I take away each year fuels my passion for stone and stonework.

An example of the benefits of attending the stone symposium is the presentations on Japanese stonework I was privileged to attend.  One of the presenters was Sadafumi Uchiyama, curator of the Portland Japanese Garden: http://japanesegarden.com.
He gave two presentations on stonework in Japanese gardens, one specifically about the various types of pavements, sidewalks, etc.. with specific and detailed guidelines for why and how japanese gardeners approach these projects.  This presentation was particularly useful in helping me connect with a recent client in East Asheville who is building a Japanese garden around her home, and wanted a sidewalk based on photo of a sidewalk in a Tokyo garden.
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In collaboration with my client, we created this sidewalk based on a japanese design. What I learned at the stone symposium was invaluable for approaching this project from a Japanese perspective.
Also, a highlight of the trip was giving a presentation of my own about the large boulder retaining walls we have been building.  I called it "Extreme Walling" to underscore the increasingly challenging nature of some recent projects.  The 15- minute presentation was well-received by my peers, and I was proud to represent Asheville and North Carolina and proud of the hard work that we put in this summer.  Here are the slides from the presentation, and hopefully at some point I can post the video.
Tools of the trade
This is when we decided we needed bigger chains.
This is a before photo from the project in Sapphire Valley.
This type of steps is called a stile.
Last but not least I wanted to share some photos of the amazing scenery in Maine.  The stone symposium and our lodgings were set in the Schoodic Peninsula part of Acadia National Park , and we enjoyed perfect weather weather while there.  We also did a self guided tour of some of the stone carriage road bridges built by John D Rockefeller throughout the park.  I have included some photos from the Schoodic International Sculpture Symposium which we visited, but too much to tell in one blog.  If you are interested, read more at:http://schoodicsculpture.org/2014-communities/.
Semi-circular Arch on a carriage road bridge.
Symposium Attendees enjoy a lobster dinner.
Myself, Zach Johnson and others learn about techniques for moving and splitting large stones at the Schoodic International Sculpture Symposium.
One of the many impressive carriage road bridges built by John D Rockefeller for Acadia Park and the American people.
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Living Stone Masons return to Asheville.

10/11/2014

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Hi Blog readers, we have a lot to catch up on and news to announce!  After a long Summer of  working in Cashiers, we have completed that major project and have started working on our scheduled projects in Asheville and Banner Elk.  This years' projects included major boulder walls, hardscaping, patios, sidewalks, chimney repairs and more.  Also travel!  Did I mention we love to travel?  Besides attending the annual Stone Foundation symposium in Maine, Josh and I will head to France in November to restore a retaining wall in a Provence olive grove.  Stay tuned for future posts about the Maine and France trips.


Also, we are seeking opportunities for winter work in warmer climates such as Chattanooga, Charlotte, Raleigh and beyond!


Please enjoy these photos from our latest projects.
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Will stands below one of the massive retaining walls we built in Sapphire Valley this summer.
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We designed the walls for this mountaintop site to support the house and create planting space.
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Many of the boulders for this project came from the site and we had to use feathers and wedges to split them and create usable shapes and sizes.
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This panorama gives you a feel for how steep and challenging the site was, requiring two excavators to stage and build this part of the project.
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We used huge slabs of Crab Orchard stone to create this patio which required the construction of a 9' high wall.
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Crab Orchard stair treads are a safe, consistent way to provide access to steep mountain homesites.
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Layla enjoys the view!
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    Franklin Smith, owner Living Stone Masonry and general stone enthusiast

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