Working with stone for the past twenty-eight years has been one continuous learning experience for me. I have designed and built a wide variety of stone objects, including fireplaces, walls, gardens, patios, interior spaces, sculptures, and landscapes. Throughout all this creating and building, I am still amazed at how much I do not know or understand about this simple and basic material called stone. I had just turned nineteen when I first used stone in a building project. I sensed that there was something special about stone, but I did not begin to realize its full potential until I built a black limestone exterior chimney about three years later. While working on the chimney, the full force of the stone's power and energy hit me. It was an awakening. I remember, to this day, going to the quarry, handpicking the stones to be used, mixing the cement powder with the washed sand to make the concrete to hold the stones in place. I was doing all the work myself, putting in twelve-hour days of backbreaking labor. At night I would find myself in bed, so tired from the day's work in the hot sun but still not able to fall asleep, just laying there on my back. I waited anxiously for daybreak, so I could go back to work and lay more stone, thoughts racing through my mind, so excited about the hypnotic energy that the emerging patterns of the stones were creating. I wanted to create a bigger picture, at the end of the day I'd set my tools down and just stare at what was unfolding. It was not about the work-I liked being outdoors, working for myself, and being physically active. But the physical work was just a means to the end: the completed six-by-twenty-two-foot rectangular form. When it was finished, I could not stop myself from looking at it. The visual impact that the stonework had on me was like nothing I had experienced in my young life. For the first time I knew what I wanted to do. I wanted to work with stone. Excerpted from Stone by Design: The Artistry of Lew French by Lew French All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.
