On my arrival in Iceland we hit the ground running. Digging footings and gathering stones occupied our days before and between the workshops. The weather was in our favor throughout. Although there were showers most days and wind blowing hard enough to knock us around on others, everyone pitched in with exuberance and made the project fun to the last stone laid.

Pinnacle Stone

Wallcraft in artmaking is a matter of limit-reaching. The builder strives to rub shoulders with limits without overstepping their authority. Doing the most while appearing to do the least imbues a piece with wonder, making it seem both solid and intangible. The goal of the waller/artist is to satisfy physical reality while leaving a question in the viewer’s mind of its supremacy over the chimerical. Modern living can always use a dose of the fantastical from time to time and that’s what the artist is here to offer.

Connections in Stone: Nick Aitken Dry Stane Dyker and Author

How is a friendship measured? Is it by points of contact or the spaces between them? Is the strength of a friendship the sum of all shared experiences or the sense of timelessness between those experiences? Some friendships sustain themselves by daily routine while others are capable of resuming unaffected after long partings. Friendships that span decades may encounter both storylines.

Rock Springs

Like other environmental art works I’ve done, Rock Springs is in, of and for its home place. The 32’x44’x5’ sculpture invites exploration. The interwoven coils of dry stone walls rise and fall underfoot as they’re traversed. Broad top stones elevate viewers above deep fissures separating the walls. Hand trimmed and set sandstone blocks comprise the double-faced walls, with architectural remnants repurposed for top stones.