A Dusty Stone Ensemble: Team Rockus in Vermont
I used to think that a dry stone waller was like a musician, the difference being that walling is all practice - no performance. And then the Willowbank job came along and with it the need to bring a far-flung collection of professionals on board for incremental periods of time throughout the six week allotted for the task at hand.
The resulting activity felt like what I imagine is involved in organizing a music festival. With the venue established (site and materials) and the talent booked (the wallers) we were ready to put on a show. Nine wallers from five states brought their best attitudes and efforts to produce a handsome network of freestanding walls. Elin and I shared the off, and on-site M.C. duties required to keep the weekly performances peaking, from beginning to end.
By expanding my repertoire to include other skilled practitioners of the craft I can now see how there’s nothing lost and much to be gained. The satisfaction of successfully completing a piece is shared by all, without any one having to do it all.
A big thanks goes out to the “Rockus in Charlotte” team: Whitney, Joe, Gabriel, Jared, Curtis, Bryce, Jim, Dan and Dave. The Church Hill and Birdseye teams welcomed us and supported the work at every turn. Looking forward to new milestones, with each and all, further down the road.