Wood and Stone

["Bill Urmenyi" <bill@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Dear Linda

Your best bet would be to avoid using adhesives and use
a mechanical fixing method possibly some form of
armature.   There are some adhesives which are flexible
but generally they tend to have less strength and lower
adhesion properties.  The cheapest of these are sealants
used by builders.

There are always considerations of materials being used
in works, as each material brings with it its own
history and its own visual structure.  You will know
when you look at a work what the material used means to
you, due to your knowledge of what it has been used for
before as well as having a quality of its own.  This is
why some works use one type of material and others use
others.  The type of wood that is used tells the view
something as does the type of stone.  So does the finish
or lack of it.  The marks or lack of marks on the
material due to the artist or nature are also
significant and either enhance or detract from the work.

There is no reason why materials should not be mixed and
many great artists have mixed all manner of materials.
You just need to be aware of what each material brings
to the work both in terms of history and of your current
practise. In any event you should always consider
whether any part is needed at all. Does it add to the
work? If it does not, it should not be there. If it adds
to the work, bringing in a new dimension, then it should
be there.  The best works do not have any superfluous
attributes, everything that is there serves a purpose.

I hope that this helps.

Bill