Close to the stone

[Rick Rothrock <rothrock@xxxxxxxx>]

Dear stone friends,

    The points that Clive has touched upon are very interesting and all have a
bit of truth in them. Chemical dissolution of various materials is  responsible
for many of the stones and minerals that we use. This is the genesis of
travertines, brechiated and banded limestones, jasper, agate, malichite etc..
It is a very effective way to reveal the crystalline structure and color of
many limestones, marbles, and other carbonates. That it is an unaesthetic
process is a problem for the romantic stonecutter.  Machinery and contemporary
technique frees us to achieve images and understanding not available to those
limited to historical techniques.
     As for one of Clives' other points,  the quarry reveals some very basic
aspects about each stones origin and nature.  Landscapes themselves are much
more revealing when one understands the origins of the underlying geology.  In
the quarry can one see the fantastic forms that the stone, by its very physical
nature, has to reveal.
     Perhaps the drive to alter the stone, to make it in our own image or say
something to us in our own language, leads us to disregard and even disrespect
what the stone has to reveal about itself.  It seems to me that Linda's idea
about being "close to the stone" is really about the physical act of cutting
the stone with hand tools and the response that each stone has to that
activity.  This can be a beautiful experience true, but only an aspect of being
"close to the stone".  There are thousands of stones to know and they all have
different physical, aesthetic, and chemical properties that can be be revealed
or accessed with a wide range of techniques, abilities, and insights. I believe
that none of these should be overlooked and many have yet to be discovered.
     Thank you all for the technical insights shared in this forum. I have
picked up some great tips. Keep up the conversation.

Rick Rothrock
http://www.rickrothrock.com/