Artisan Stonework

She sent me an email in the very beginning. 

"I want a Farmers stone wall,” she wrote. Immediately, I pictured an old style dry stack, and I made the appointment thinking all along in my head of a Gettysburg style limestone wall.

As we visited she said with a big smile, “that is exactly what I do not want, and I can’t explain exactly what I do want” so we proceeded to the garden area where she had a pile of small round granite river rock.

She said, “I want you to construct a low wall from this; add some larger granite boulders, and I would like the sides to be a bit angled and irregular. I cannot explain exactly how I want it to look, but I know you can do it.”  With that vote of confidence, I took the challenge back to our design department.

First we sent her a few pictures, only to find that we still were not quite on track. She sent a couple of pictures back of ideas, but none were exactly what she wanted. Taking the challenge seriously, we decided our next step would be to resort to our imaginations, and create this first on paper.  This step, as always, ended up to be very fruitful. It gave our client the visual that she needed to have the confidence to move forward knowing full well that the end result was going to be what she had vision of.

Then the art began…we mixed mortar and hand selected each stone…creating Art. Each day took on a new dimension and a new shape; the irregularities of the natural stone fitting together, reflecting our natural lives, and how each day brings a new dimension or an unexpected turn.

In the end, a beautiful, artful masterpiece was created, completely within our client’s original vision and exceeding expectations.  The ingredients of; listening to the needs and desires of the client,  the artistic talents of a designer, the use of the correct materials, and the passion and care of the installer, always ends in a successful, satisfying and rewarding experience… both to the builder, and to the beholder. 

Bill Peters