In the Company of Stone: The Art of the Stone Wall

by Daniel Snow, Peter Mauss (Photographer)

"Finding stone, choosing it, and letting go of it are the three things a waller does. I'd miss any one of them too much if I asked someone else to do them for me. I may work by myself, but I'm not alone. I'm in the company of stone." Daniel Snow is a waller, an artisan who builds walls, terraces, caverns, and the occasional sphere or pool out of dry stone. It's an ancient skill--building with only what the earth provides. No mortar, no nails, nothing to hold his creations together except gravity, an invisible glue he can sense in the stones' "conversations" of squeaks and rumbles. A hollow sound means a void needs to be filled; a solid fit is secured with the sound of a bolt being thrown. Snow's evocative prose and Peter Mauss's richly textured photographs of Snow's work reveal the nuance and beauty of walling--and of one man's relationship with nature. The result is by turns poetic and practical.

Genres: Gardening, Nonfiction, Art

128 pages, Hardcover

First published September 1, 2001

Reviews

[Jane]

Brilliant artist, beautiful book. His walls are truly works of art.

[Rach]

Enchanting, beautiful, melodic

[Bryan]

An inspiring compilation of living with your hands touching the Earth. This guy is zen and he doesn't even know it.

[Will G]

Not enough wall, too much art

[Kenneth Curran]

Wonderful.

[Hilary]

My father used to build dry stone walls. We spent many weekends hiking through the New England woods and hauling back the perfect stone(s) to fit his current project. I remember one home in Pennsylvania that the entire family spent months looking for the ultimate "Rock with Character" to complete the front yard (...we never did find it... and to this day we point out various "rocks with character," to him...)

Great pictures.

[Chrisl]

Having stacked tons of rocks, I found Snow's work brilliant. Would like to experience his "zone" for selecting the next rock.

Most library catalogs place this one with masonry in 693. I'd have placed it in the 700s, landscaping/stone art.