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By SUE RYAN
News staff writer
October 11, 2006
Stones stacked without mortar can stand
for centuries.
Rock walls, archways, bridges, and even trees can be built to stand
the test of time by those who have the knowledge and skills to fit the
rocks together.
“There is a philosophy to it that each stone has its place,” said John
Shaw-Rimmington.
He and fellow master stonemason Dean McLellan came from Ontario,
Canada, to teach a class at Stonehedge and also to meet with other
stonemasons during the 2006 International Stonework Symposium held
from Sept. 30-Oct. 1 in Hood River.
Master stonemasons Dean McLellan, left, and John Shaw-Rimmington search
for the next stone to put in place. The men said they prefer working
in the kilts because it’s easier to bend and lift rocks. They also
said “It’s a Canadian thing” about their attire.
Shaw-Rimmington said there is definitely
a technique behind dry stone wall stacking but also a belief. He and
McLellan walked about a tree they were building on the north lawn of
the library. They were examining the rocks spread out in a series of
concentric rings about their project.
“Each stone has its own place,” Shaw-Rimmington said. “It requires
standing back and looking at where the rock belongs rather than just
fitting the rock in.”
Each picked up stones, hefted them and wedged or placed his selection
within the growing stack. Since they formed the Dry Stone Wall
Association of Canada six years ago, they have traveled throughout the
United States and Canada teaching classes.
Stonemasons took apart and rebuilt this
bar using a technique that tilts weight toward the center.
Their purpose in holding classes is to
teach others what can be done in the field of “Dryscaping.” This
architectural technique uses random natural stone in a structural
application without cement or any manmade products.
Shaw-Rimmington said that following each class, he and fellow teacher
Dean McLellan, like to build a project for the community they are
visiting.
For Hood River, they chose to construct a Christmas tree that Shaw-Rimmington
said was formed along the lines of a Scotch pine tree. Hood River
County Librarian June Knutson said she felt the project added to the
stone features of the park adjoining the library. The sweep of grass
and benches overlooking Oak Street includes low-slung walls built
recently by Mexican stonemasons during the second phase of the
library’s remodel and expansion, as well as a miniature version of
work done by Italian stonemasons who built the Columbia River Historic
Highway between 1913 and 1922.
For the tree, Shaw-Rimmington and McLellan first erected a center
column of steel pipe to serve as the base. Throughout the project,
they used scaffolding to stabilize the stone until the tree was
completed.
“It’s an enduring style of building that allows for shifting,”
McLellan said.
Aspiring students learned more about this rough-hewn form through a
three-day class that Shaw Rimmington and McLellan taught at Stonehedge
Gardens before the international symposium.
Owner Mike Caldwell said the stonemasons contacted him months ago
about using his site for their class.
“They scouted this (Stonehedge Gardens) out as one of the locations
they were looking at,” Caldwell said.
He said the stonemasons wanted a setting that would truly honor the
art of dry stone wall stacking. There already were several low stone
walls throughout the grounds of his old inn and restaurant but the
setting also reflected the Gorge’s volcanic history.
“Many of these rocks show the way this area was formed by the Columbia
Ice Floods,” Caldwell said.
At Stonehedge Gardens, the stonemasons showed students how to build
low landscape walls that are one of the most often requested projects
by clients. They also took apart and rebuilt a rock bar with the
weight tilting in toward the center to create its structure. Caldwell
said his favorite work was the Celtic-style wall the masons built with
rock they quarried on the site as well as some supplied by a local
quarryman.
“The stones lining the top are a mark of that style,” Caldwell said.
“There are other stones called heart stones that the masons chiseled
down to fit in as wedges and act as a kind of natural mortar.”
Caldwell said while he watched them work that he could see each
stonemason turning the rocks over and over to read its veins. The
Celtic method allows for stones to settle, which makes the structure
firmer over time. Caldwell said the wall the artisans constructed
should last a long while.
“I would call it a 1,000-year-wall,” he said.
The stonemasons happened upon Hood River because of its historic use
of stonework. Some members of the Stone Foundation knew of the Gorge
from the Historic Columbia River Highway, which is what initially drew
their attention.
During the international symposium, participants heard presentations
varying from “Unraveling the Mysteries of Mortar” to styles of
stonework from Spain, France, and even ancient Peru. |
