My Balanced Stones
By Dave Savage DaveSavage.com 404 323-8686
These sculptures are temporary, like flower arrangements, fireworks and a decorative platter of food you bring to a pot luck dinner. It's just weight, balance, friction between the stones and steady hands. And, oh, I might "cheat" a little once in a while with a little pebble to fill a gap for stability. You'll also see that I've been adding a mixture of objects to the stacks. I welcome gifts of things that you think would be fun and artistic to combine.
I wouldn't have all of these pictures if they didn't get blown down in a breeze or fall when trying to get one more stone on the very top. I've learned to take pictures of them when created because many of them are so fragile they don't last very long. Sometimes I take one down because it's been up such a long time and I feel inspired to do something different. As you can see by the upper and more recent pictures that I'm increasingly adding metals and other media into my sculptures.
I particularly enjoy teaching others how to do it and seeing what they create. In the pictures below you'll see a few of my students. Let me know if your garden or art group would like an interactive class or presentation.
A big part of the practice is the belief that a precarious balance is possible at all, that it is possible for an expert and that it is possible for you to do it too..
If you'd like a balanced stone sculpture for your home or business space, let me know.
At the bottom of the gallery of pictures are master stacker video links and articles.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Yes, it's really balanced that way and without a shim! Let me show you how and perhaps give a presentation to your group.
|
|
|
|
|
The steel rod is balanced on it's end!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
A couple of my young enthusiastic students build something new every time they come by on a walk and roll with their parents.
|
|
|
|
|
A client installation above.
|
|
|
If you have or find any small metal item that can be added to the stone stacks, I'd love to have them for new creativity.
|
|
|
|
|
My 2nd youngest student at 28 months.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Sometimes the shape of the stones helps create an animal.
I love to stack wherever the stones and opportunity appear. This one is at the Blue Heron Nature Preserve in Atlanta, along with several of my large all metal sculptures.
|
My students create new things when I not there. Surprise!
|
Invite me to your garden club meeting for an interactive presentation - training. And give a stack, as a thank you gift, for a club president or as a club gift to a community organization. The club provides the plants to go around it.
|
The sculpture above is a commissioned stack.
Consider one of my sculptures as a group gift for a dear friend's lovely home or business landscape. 
|
These two above are commissioned stacks.
|
|
|
|
The stack above was created by one of my neighbor students. I enjoy coming out to the yard to find that grownups and kids alike have been here building their own sculptures.
One of my neighborhood balancing students learning the basics. You're welcome to play and practice here too! I'm often surprised and delighted by what is created when I'm not watching.
|
|
She is one of my youngest and most engaged students.
|
I always stand with my feet out of the way of heavy stones.
I stand with my legs apart so falling stones don't hurt me.
|
|
|
|
One of my balancing students surprised me with this T.
|
Inspiration from others is below. Often the amazing options are from the stones that are at hand and liftable.
Be sure to check out the Michael Grab videos on Youtube. It's where I started my learning journey. Do a web search for (or click on this link) cairn rock stacking to see Google's gallery of truly amazing stacks.
Be sure to check out the Michael Grab videos on Youtube. It's where I started my learning journey. Do a web search for (or click on this link) cairn rock stacking to see Google's gallery of truly amazing stacks.
From Wikipedia:and other sites
A cairn is a human-made pile (or stack) of stones. From middle Gaelic, the word means "mound of stones built as a memorial or landmark."
In modern times, cairns are often erected as landmarks, a use they have had since ancient times. However, since prehistory, they have also been built and used as burialmonuments; for defense and hunting; for ceremonial purposes, sometimes relating to astronomy; to locate buried items, such as caches of food or objects; and to mark trails, among other purposes.
Cairns are and were used as trail markers in many parts of the world, in uplands, on moorland, on mountaintops, near waterways and on sea cliffs, as well as in barren deserts and tundra. They vary in size from small stone markers to entire artificial hills, and in complexity from loose conical rock piles to delicately balanced sculptures and elaborate feats of megalithic engineering. Cairns may be painted or otherwise decorated, whether for increased visibility or for religious reasons. An ancient example is the inuksuk (plural inuksuit), used by the Inuit, Inupiat, Kalaallit, Yupik, and other peoples of the Arctic region of North America. These structures are found from Alaska to Greenland. This region, above the Arctic Circle, is dominated by the tundra biome and has areas with few natural landmarks.
A cairn is a human-made pile (or stack) of stones. From middle Gaelic, the word means "mound of stones built as a memorial or landmark."
In modern times, cairns are often erected as landmarks, a use they have had since ancient times. However, since prehistory, they have also been built and used as burialmonuments; for defense and hunting; for ceremonial purposes, sometimes relating to astronomy; to locate buried items, such as caches of food or objects; and to mark trails, among other purposes.
Cairns are and were used as trail markers in many parts of the world, in uplands, on moorland, on mountaintops, near waterways and on sea cliffs, as well as in barren deserts and tundra. They vary in size from small stone markers to entire artificial hills, and in complexity from loose conical rock piles to delicately balanced sculptures and elaborate feats of megalithic engineering. Cairns may be painted or otherwise decorated, whether for increased visibility or for religious reasons. An ancient example is the inuksuk (plural inuksuit), used by the Inuit, Inupiat, Kalaallit, Yupik, and other peoples of the Arctic region of North America. These structures are found from Alaska to Greenland. This region, above the Arctic Circle, is dominated by the tundra biome and has areas with few natural landmarks.
Watch Michael Grab youtube videos called GravityGlue, at http:///www.gravityglue.com. Travis Ruskus also demonstrates stone balancing on youtube. See a rock stacking demonstration on TedxHickory by Phillip and Venus Bowman at.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=khkChqlYz3g
Double speed demonstration by Gravity Meditation
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DnpcPN0fwhc
Double speed demonstration by Gravity Meditation
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DnpcPN0fwhc
Balancing rocks teaches patience. Stone balancing teaches coordination, rock balancing gets you noticed.
When you read about people creating Cairnes in nature areas you'll learn about the scorn and negative image of them by many folks. So I encourage you to only build them on private property, with permission.
When you read about people creating Cairnes in nature areas you'll learn about the scorn and negative image of them by many folks. So I encourage you to only build them on private property, with permission.