Books : In the Company of Stone

Binding: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 693.1
EAN: 9781579653477
ISBN: 1579653472
Label: Artisan
Manufacturer: Artisan
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 128
Publication Date: January 30, 2007
Publisher: Artisan
Studio: Artisan
Sales Rank: 43323

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Editorial Review:

Product Description:
“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.”

Dan 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.

Amazon.com Review:
Dan Snow builds stone walls without benefit of mortar or other binding material. This ancient dry-stone method is experiencing a revival, and Snow's In the Company of Stone is full of moody photos of recent landscape projects, some of which look as if they'd been part of the scenery for centuries. Snow's poetic commentary and a helpful appendix of design detail make for an inspiring, informative book.

Customer Reviews

Average Rating: out of 5 stars

Rating:

- This is not a "how-to-do-stonework-101" book, but it shows color & b/w photos of completed projects
The beautiful color photographs of the artfully designed and master-crafted stonework are nicely done! It seems apparent to me that the stone mason has a definite love for his chosen profession and for any project precisely crafted. This book is not a "how-to-do-stonework-101." It is the meshing between the photographer and artist that tells a unique story in pictures. This book wets my appetite for wanting to learn more about this timeless craft!

Rating:

- Dan Snow is the master of stonework
Dan Snows stonework may be some of the best in the world. Of all the stonework I have seen over the years his stands of as the best of the best.
This book illustrates much of Dans work demonstrating what is possible.
Most of this work is dry laid stone which is an art in itself. For those who like work utilizing mortar I recommend Lew Frenches book. Buy this book if you love to view stonework that makes you say " WOW!"

Rating:

- Words and Walls
Over a decade ago, Dan Snow repaired the hundred-year-old dry stone walls that wander across our property in Vermont. The tumbled stone had been evocative, but the symmetry of the reassembled walls has been an irresistible delight. I do not know Snow--he worked while we were away--but I have thanked him a million times for his art. In this book, he has somehow captured with words the sensory pleasure of organizing and reorganizing stones. The art of walling, as evidenced by Peter Mauss's photographs, ... Read More

Rating:

- stone lovers
If you love stones and stone work you'll appreciate the pictures but a book just can't manage to "show" the art involved in working with stone

Rating:

- Not a "how-to"
This is not a "how-to" book - it's better than that. It's a "why" book. The author expresses in his understated manner the "why's" of working with stone and for anyone who feels about stone the way he does (and I do)it is a delight to read - and look at. This book is absolutely inspirational and a joy.

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